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BR  115  .P8  U76 

Urquhart,  John. 

What  are  we  to  believe? 


IWRS    NIMROD,    THE    ANXIENT    BABEL. 


Wbat  are  we  to  Believe? 


Sbe  {Testimony  of  jfulftlleo  ipropbeQ. 


Rev.    J,    URQUHART, 

Editor  of  "  The  King's  Own"  ''Word  and  Work;'1'' 
Author  of    "  The  Inspiration  and  Accuracy  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

&c,  &>c. 


0Lon&on : 
MARSHALL  BROTHERS,  Keswick  House,  Paternoster  Row. 

LEADER  PUBLISHING  Co.,  74,  Bath  Street,  Glasgow. 


CONTENTS. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I.— A  Serious  Question. 

Sometimes  asked   in  Despair — Trials  of  Early  Faith — 
Ministerial  Difficulties — The  Demand  for  an  Answer 


CHAPTER  II. — Can  the  Question  be  Answered? 

Certainty  sometimes  attained — Bishop  Newton  and  Mar- 
shal Wade — The  future  completely  hid  from  human  view — 
What  is  proved  if  the  future  has  nevertheless  been  fully 
read?  8 


CHAPTER  III. — Predictions   Regarding  Tyre   and 
Sidon. 

Illustration  of  the  kind  of  evidence  available  :  the  Stones 
and  Dust  of  Tyre  to  be  laid  in  the  Sea — We  limit  ourselves 
to  Prophecies  fulfilled  at  and  since  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  era — Tyre  to  be  built  no  more — Sidon  to  continue 
but  to  suffer — What  if  the  two  Names  had  changed  places  ?     15 

CHAPTER  IV. — Predictions  Regarding  Egypt. 

Fate  of  Thebes — Egypt's  Doom  of  Decline — The  Kingdom 
not  to  be  Extinguished — Its  Degradation — To  have  no 
Native  Ruler        22 

CHAPTER  V. — Predictions   Regarding   Egypt. 

(Continued.) 

Fate  of  Memphis — The  Rivers  and  the  Canals  of  Egypt — 
The  Verdure  on  the  River  Banks — The  Fisheries  of  Egypt 
— Its  remaining  Industries — The  Desolation  of  the  sur- 
rounding Countries — The  Desolation  of  Egypt  itself — The 
Character  of  its  Masters— Their  Nationality — Their  Work 
—Summary  42 


VI.  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER     VI. — Idumea    and    the    Sea-Coast    of 
Palestine. 

The  Commerce  of  Idumea  to  cease — The  Race  to  become 
extinct — The  Land  to  be  a  Desolation — The  Doom  of  the 
Philistines — The  Remnant  of  the  Sea-Coast  to  be  Destroyed 
— The  Country  to  be  Desolate,  while  its  Fruitfulness  is  to 
remain — The  Present  Aspect  of  the  Land  and  the  purpose 
which  it  serves  described  in  Prophecy — Predictions  regard- 
ing Ascalon,  Ekron,  and  Gaza 89 

CHAPTER   VII.— Judea  and  Babylon. 

The  cessation  of  the  Jewish  Worship,  and  the  desolation 
of  the  Jewish  sanctuaries — The  Israelites  uprooted  from  the 
land — Their  enemies  to  dwell  in  it — Its  cities  to  be  a  waste 
and  the  land  a  desolation — The  duration  of  the  desolation 
— Judea  to  be  a  land  of  pilgrimages — The  doom  of  Bethel, 
of  Samaria,  of  Capernaum,  and  of  Jerusalem — Fate  of  Mount 
Moriah  and  of  Zion — The  destruction  of  the  Temple  and  the 
continued  oppression  of  Jerusalem — Julian's  attempt  to 
defeat  the  prophecy — Babylon  :  Its  desolation  to  be  utter 
and  lasting — The  process  of  its  demolition  described — A 
burnt  mountain — To  become  the  prey  of  many  nations — 
All  that  spoil  her  to  be  satisfied — The  awful  desolation  of 
Chaldea      106 

CHAPTER    VIII. — A    Prophetic    Forecast    of    the 
World's  Entire  History. 

The  Book  of  Daniel — Supposed  critical  triumph — Nebu- 
chadnezzar's dream — Interpretation  of  the  parable — The 
four  empires  named  in  Scripture — The  Roman  to  be  the 
last  merely  human  world-dominion — The  character  of  the 
fourth  kingdom — Its  novelty,  terribleness,  strength,  and 
tyranny — The  division  of  the  empire — Its  continuance — The 
number  of  its  fragments — A  miracle  of  insight :  The  child- 
hood, boyhood,  youth,  manhood,  and  old  age  of  history    ...  145 

CHAPTER  IX. — Prophecies  Fulfilled  in  the  Coming, 
the  History,  and  the  Work  of  Christ. 

The  age  of  the  Old  Testament  writings — The  Messianic 
prophecies — The  nations  to  cast  away  their  idols — The  revo- 


CONTENTS.  viJ 


lution  to  be  the  work  of  one  man— And  He  a  Jew— The 
year  of  His  appearing  foretold— The  time  of  His  death— 
The  end  of  the  Gospel  ministry  in  Jerusalem— His  history 
foretold— His  lowliness  and  poverty— Rejected  by  Israel- 
Dies  by  violence,  and  under  a  judicial  sentence— His  work 
described— He  lives  and  saves 

CHAPTER  X.— Predictions  Fulfilled  in  the  His- 
tory of  the  Jews. 

Their  importance— The  Jews'  rejection  of  Jesus— Its  long 
continuance-Their  punish ment-The  instruments  of  it- 
The  mercilessness  of  the  instruments  of  vengeance— The 
Jews  to  be  taken  back  to  Egypt  "in  ships  "-Characteristics 
ot  the  war  :  its  sieges  ;  the  method  of  attack-The  Jews  to 
suffer  the  extremities  of  famine,  and  to  be  left  few  in 
number-Their  universal  dispersion-Their  preservation- 
Iheir  separateness— Their  treatment  in  the  lands  of  their 
sojourn-To  be  compelled  tc  pollute  themselves  with 
idolatry— To  have  no  rest-To  be  deprived  of  any  central 
government-To  be  deprived  of  sacrifice,  and  holy-place, 
and  priest— Conclusion < 


PAGK 


185 


yW>m 


CHAPTER   I. 


A    SERIOUS     QUESTION. 

T  IS  SOMETIMES  asked  in  petulant  indolence. 
The  writer  has  a  vivid  recollection  of  its  being  put 
by  a  rather  feeble,  and  not  very  worthy,  member  of 
a  country  church.  He  possessed  a  copy  of  "  Brown's  Bible," 
and  it  was  a  favourite  exercise  with  him  to  spend  Sunday 
afternoon  in  comparing  the  exposition  he  had  heard  in 
the  morning  with  the  remarks  in  the  commentary.  These 
did  not  always  agree,  and  disagreement  was  never  noted 
without  annoyance.  One  Sunday  there  chanced  to  be  a 
more  than  ordinarily  wide  divergence.  The  minister  hap- 
pened to  call  a  day  or  two  afterwards,  and,  having  spent 
his  strength  in  explaining  and  defending  the  position  he 
had  dared  to  take  in  defiance  of  "  Brown,"  he  was  rewarded 
by  the  exclamation  :  "  What  are  we  to  believe  !  " 

It  might  be  well  for  all  men,  and  it  would  certainly  be 
more  agreeable  to  many,  were  there  no  divergent  opinions. 
But  it  is  not  well  for  any  man,  when  he  discovers  that  all 
do  not  think  alike,  to  faint  amid  the  strife  of  tongues  and 
to  "throw  the  whole  thing  up."  There  are  few  truths 
which  have  not  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  controversy,  and 
those  truths  are  our  possession  to-day  solely  because  there 
happened  to  be  men  who,  while  they  loved  peace,  would 
not  part  with  conviction  though  the  holding  to  it  meant 
war.      Science  as  well  as  faith  has  had  its  martyrs.      They 

A 


A    SEKIOUS     QUESTION. 


were  brave  enough  to  leave  the  beaten  track  in  search  of 
truth,  and,  when  they  found  it,  they  were  not  to  be  fright- 
ened from  their  possession  by  the  chorus  of  doubt  and 
condemnation  with  which  they  were  assailed.  That  man 
will  do  little  in  the  world  who  can  be  terrified  by  clamour, 
or  who  surrenders  convictions  because  all  are  not  agreed 
as  to  their  truth.  The  manly  man  feels  that,  in  such  differ- 
ences, there  is  a  call  to  inquire  and  to  make  his  own 
decision.  The  rest,  though  it  pains  one  to  say  it,  are  no 
great  loss.  The  wind  that  sweeps  across  the  threshing-floor 
takes  only  the  chaff  away ;  or,  if  it  take  with  it  too  the  light, 
withered,  heartless  grain,  the  wheat  that  is  left  clean  and 
sound  is  all  the  worthier  of  the  garner. 

"Were  such  the  only  lips  to  ask  the  question  we  might 
pass  it  lightly  by.  But  it  is  sometimes  asked  in  despair. 
There  is  many  a  tragedy  in  these  last  days  which  never 
gets  into  the  newspapers,  which  is  played  out  to  the  bitter 
end  in  obscurity  and  silence,  which  no  eye  witnesses,  and 
neither  tongue  nor  pen  relates.  Let  us  glance  at  a  few 
typical  instances.  A  lad  leaves  a  northern  village,  in  which 
he  had  been  born  and  brought  up,  for  one  of  our  large 
southern  cities.  He  has  come  from  a  pious  home  where 
impressions  had  been  made  which  fond  parents  hoped 
would  be  an  abiding  protection  against  the  temptations 
which  he  went  forth  to  meet.  And  at  first  it  was  so.  He 
sought  and  found,  in  his  new  home,  associations  similar  to 
those  with  which  he  had  so  long  been  familiar.  He 
breathed  a  kindred  social,  intellectual,  and  spiritual  at- 
mosphere. He  was  found  at  prayer-meetings,  and  he 
rejoiced  in  young  men's  religious  societies.  Between  him 
and  heresy,  or  unbelief,  there  lay  a  great  gulf  of  pious 
horror,  which  shut  off  all  communication,  and  which,  one 
would  have  imagined,  effectually  disposed  of  any  dread  of 
infection. 

Some  years  passed  and  then  there  came  a  change.  He 
began   to   read.       The   pleasures   of    "the   Pierian   spring" 


TRIALS    OF    EARLY    FAITH.  3 

allured  him  on.  He  wandered  in  new,  and  hitherto  un- 
dreamt of,  fields.  And,  as  the  centre  of  interest  changed 
its  place,  there  was  a  corresponding  transfer  of  affection. 
The  old  resorts  were  less  frequented.  The  limitations  of 
old  companionships  became  painfully  apparent.  They  were 
judged  of  more  by  what  they  lacked  than  by  what  they 
had. 

By-and-bye  another  stage  was  reached.  His  reading 
had  hitherto  been  of  a  colourless  character,  so  far  as 
Christianity  was  concerned.  But  now  in  the  course  of  his 
journeying  he  lighted  upon  a  country  whose  thought  and 
speech  were  diverse  from  all  he  had  hitherto  known.  The 
beliefs  which  he  had  cherished  till  then  were  regarded 
with  pitying  contempt,  or  were  spoken  of  as  if  no  sane 
man  could  have  patience  with  them.  All  this  he  read 
with  pain,  but  also  with  increasing  curiosity.  There  must 
surely  be  some  grounds,  real  or  supposed,  for  the  position 
which  was  assumed.  What  were  they1?  From  Matthew 
Arnold  he  passed  to  the  Leben  Jesu  of  David-Frederic 
Strauss.  The  deadlier  potion  seemed  at  first  less  ob- 
jectionable than  the  other.  It  was  a  relief  to  turn  from 
the  pretentiousness  of  Arnold  to  the  studied  fairness,  the 
transparent  frankness  of  Strauss.  But  it  was  still  a  thorny 
pathway.  With  grief  and  deepening  sadness,  one  con- 
viction after  another  was  laid  aside,  till  all  were  buried  in 
a  grave  for  which  it  seemed  no  resurrection  morn  was 
possible.  It  was  a  terrible  awaking.  The  holy  tenderness 
and  glowing  hopes  of  his  earlier  faith  died  as  the  day  dies 
when  the  sun  has  sunk  beneath  the  western  horizon. 
Deep  darkness  settled  down  on  past,  present,  and  future. 
He  wrote  to  a  friend  "  I  have  ceased  to  believe  in  Christ, 
Christianity,  or  the  Bible." 

Part  of  another  life-drama  was  enacted  in  the  same  city, 
a  few  years  earlier.  It  was  that  of  a  youth  from  another 
district  and  with  a  very  different  preparation  for  the 
struggle.       No    religious    training    had    either    biassed    or 


4  A    SERIOUS     QUESTION. 

blessed  his  boyhood.  Religion  belonged  to  a  world  with 
which  he  had  nothing  whatever  to  do,  and  with  which  he 
desired  no  closer  connection.  He  had  gone  to  church 
just  as  he  had  gone  to  school,  from  compulsion  rather  than 
choice,  and  the  Sunday  exercises  had  made  still  less  im- 
pression than  the  other.  He  must  have  heard  the  texts 
given  out,  and,  though  his  thoughts  were  wandering  far 
away,  he  must  have  heard  parts  at  least  of  many  a  sermon ; 
but  they  were  remembered  quite  as  little  as  the  humming 
of  the  bees  in  the  fields,  through  which  he  passed  to  reach 
his  home. 

A  guest  came  one  evening,  who,  for  lack  of  better  ac- 
commodation, had  to  share  the  boy's  bedroom,  and  the 
stranger  seized  the  opportunity  to  speak  to  him  about  that 
of  which  he  had  never  thought — his  soul.  The  result 
could  not  have  been  encouraging  to  the  good  man,  and 
the  circumstance  was  long  remembered  by  the  subject  of 
his  solicitude  with  anything  but  gratitude.  Why  people 
should  take  such  dire  offence  at  plain  dealing  in  this  of 
all  matters — why  they  should  be  more  indignant  at  the 
question  whether  they  are  bound  for  heaven  than  at  the 
inquiry  whether  they  think  of  going  to  New  Zealand,  is  a 
matter  which  philosophers  have  yet  to  explain. 

Some  time  after  his  arrival  in  the  city,  conscience  began 
to  assert  itself,  but  to  religion  he  was  as  indifferent  as  ever. 
A  friend  of  the  people,  with  whom  he  boarded,  used  oc- 
casionally to  spend  an  evening  with  him  and  them.  He 
was  a  Secularist,  and  belief  in  the  existence  of  God  was 
argued  against  and  scoffed  at.  The  youth  was  unable  to 
refute  the  arguments  advanced,  but  he  recoiled  from  the 
dark  abyss  of  Atheism.  The  story  is  told  of  a  lady  who, 
having  fallen  into  a  trance  and  having  been  buried  alive, 
regained  consciousness  as  the  grave-digger,  who  had  after- 
wards unearthed  the  supposed  corpse,  was  severing  a  finger 
in  order  to  obtain  the  ring  which  had  been  left  upon  it. 
And  so  the  attempt  to  rob  him  of  this  last  conviction  seemed 


MINISTERIAL     DIFFICULTIES.  5 

to  arouse  his  long-slumbering  mental  and  moral  nature. 
The  question  was  now  eagerly  asked  which  had  never 
passed  those  lips  before — "What  are  we  to  believe1?"  An 
advertisement  regarding  The  Defender,  a  periodical  edited  by 
Dr.  Rutherford,  of  Newcastle,  was  noticed.  The  magazine 
was  regularly  purchased  and  eagerly  read.  It  met  his 
need.  A  spirit  that  was  willing  to  believe  if  it  only  could, 
was,  so  to  speak,  taken  by  the  hand  and  led  onward  into 
brightening  light. 

We  may  cite  one  case  more.  Two  ministers,  stationed  in 
a  University  town,  are  walking  out  into  the  country,  as  they 
often  do,  on  Monday  morning.  Both  are  young  and  in 
their  first  pastorates,  the  elder  of  the  two  having  had  a 
couple  of  years'  more  experience  of  ministerial  life  than  his 
companion.  There  is  a  sadness,  however,  in  this  morning's 
conversation.  In  the  confidence  of  a  very  sincere  and  close 
friendship,  the  elder  is  relating  some  of  his  difficulties.  He 
professes  himself  unable  any  longer  to  accept  the  ordinary 
representations  of  the  atonement.  His  friend  is  sympathetic 
but  astonished.  To  him  everything  is  clear.  He  refers  to 
one  passage  after  another,  but  the  other  is  neither  convinced 
nor  helped. 

A  few  years  have  passed.  The  friends  are  now  separated 
by  distance,  but  the  younger  has  reason  to  remember  that 
morning's  conversation.  He  comprehends  the  doubts  to-day, 
the  strength  and  misery  of  which  were  hid  from  him  a  year 
or  two  ago.  The  ground  is  now  slipping  from  beneath  his 
own  feet.  He  has  been  increasingly  attracted  to  a  literature, 
the  one  grand  dogma  of  which  is  the  Fatherhood  of  God. 
It  was  a  belief  which,  as  he  grasped  it,  had  more  of 
sentiment  than  of  strength,  but  it  had  become  to  him 
practically  the  whole  evangel.  Deductions  are  sometimes 
made  slowly  even  by  a  logical  mind,  but  once  made  they 
are  bound  on  the  soul  with  bands  of  iron.  Looked  at 
from  the  new  standpoint,  old  beliefs  lost  their  reasonableness, 
and  even  their  credibility.     His  faith  in  the  central  doctrine 


6  A    SEKIOUS     QUESTION. 

of  the  Scripture  went  as  completely  as  his  friend's  had 
formerly  done. 

He  did  his  work  as  best  he  could,  but  he  was  not  at  rest. 
The  gospel  message,  as  he  now  viewred  it,  had  lost  much 
of  its  urgency.  There  was  an  uneasy  feeling,  too,  that  he 
was  at  wTar  with  the  book  he  professed  to  accept  wholly, 
and  all  the  counsels  of  w7hich  he  acknowledged  it  his  duty 
to  declare.  Then  there  came  to  him  a  period  of  enforced 
leisure.  He  had  time  to  look  back  upon  the  past,  to  weigh 
his  work,  to  judge  his  life.  The  outlook  seemed  ghastly. 
He  asked  himself  what  wras  the  outcome  of  his  toil,  and 
confessed  that  the  answer,  if  stated  truly,  was — a  salary. 
Measured  by  spiritual  result  it  was  nothing,  and  less  than 
nothing.  He  was  interested  in  the  special  truth  on  which 
he  might  happen  to  preach  on  the  Sunday,  and  he  believed 
that  the  people  were  also  interested ;  but,  when  Monday 
came,  he  and  they  were  just  where  they  had  been  before. 
The  studying  and  preaching  led  neither  him  nor  them  to 
anything  that  satisfied  and  saved.  Theirs  wTas  a  wandering, 
not  a  progress.  Then  came  a  time  of  terrible  darkness,  and 
of  soul  wrestling.  But  there  was  hope  in  the  ordeal,  for  the 
wrestling  was,  like  his  of  old,  a  wrestling  with  God.  Light 
dawned,  and  it  found  him  humbled  and  willing  to  be  led.  It 
gave  him  a  truer  hold  on  Christ,  a  deeper  and  more  childlike 
trust  in  God's  word.  He  still  serves,  and  not  without  result. 
The  other  lies  to-day  in  a  suicide's  grave. 

These  are  not  fancy  sketches :  they  are  photographs. 
They  remind  us  in  how  many  ways  and  by  how  many  lips 
this  question  is  being  asked — what  are  we  to  believe? 
Is  there  any  answer1?  Is  there  anything  which  will  put 
dark  doubts  to  rest,  and  leave  the  heart  with  certainty  and 
God?  The  old  ideas  regarding  inspiration  are  not,  gener- 
ally speaking,  the  ideas  of  to-day.  "Verbal  inspiration" 
is  spoken  of  as  a  contradiction  in  terms,  and  rejected  as  a 
superstition  and  an  absurdity.  The  clear  and  sharply-defined 
defence  of  former  times  has  given  place  to  wavering  and 


CAN    OLD     POSITIONS     BE     MAINTAINED  1  7 

apology.  We  are  told  that  tlie  language  of  scripture  is 
not  to  be  too  closely  pressed.  We  are  taught  rather  to 
expect  mistakes  in  science  and  in  history,  till  we  begin  to 
wonder  wherein  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  lies.  Is  there 
anything  which  will  settle  these  questions — which  will  show 
whether  we  have  a  book  that  is  not  man's  but  God's,  and 
which  will  prove  once  for  all  how  its  words  are  to  be  taken  ? 
I  believe  there  is. 


CHAPTER  II. 


CAN    THE   QUESTION    BE   ANSWERED? 

E  CAN  IMAGINE  no  graver  position  than  that 
of  the  man  who  takes  his  seat  in  the  Jury-box 
at  a  criminal  trial.  He  is  bound  by  his  oath 
and  by  his  duty  to  his  country,  not  only  "to  well  and 
truly  try,"  but  also  to  declare  his  judgment.  It  is  his 
to  decide  whether  he  shall  brand  a  man  with  lasting  infamy 
and  crush  the  hearts  of  parents,  wife,  children,  friends, 
beneath  a  load  which  nothing  can  remove.  He  is  asked 
to  say  whether  a  man,  whose  good  name,  liberty,  and  life, 
are  as  sacred  as  his  own,  shall  be  consigned  to  years  of  a 
stern  and  terrible  prison  discipline,  or,  it  may  be,  to  death 
at  the  hands  of  the  executioner. 

And  yet  it  sometimes  happens  that  one  piece  of  evidence 
impresses  the  mind  of  the  Jury  with  such  resistless  con- 
viction that  they  cannot  hesitate,  though  the  gravest  of  all 
issues  depends  upon  their  decision.  A  large  employer  of 
labour,  for  example,  has  been  found  dead  on  the  way  to 
his  own  home.  The  cause  of  death  was  a  gun-shot  wound, 
and  it  was  evident  that  he  had  been  murdered.  One  of 
his  workmen,  whom  he  had  discharged  after  a  personal 
altercation,  is  suspected,  and  placed  upon  his  trial.  The 
quarrel,  and  the  consequent  discharge  are  proved.     Witnesses 


CERTAINTY    SOMETIMES    ATTAINED.  9 

also  testify  that  the  prisoner  threatened  to  be  revenged, 
that  he  was  seen  in  the  neighbourhood  at  the  time  of 
the  murder,  and  that  a  gun,  which  had  been  recently 
fired,  was  found  in  his  house.  So  far  there  is  ground 
for  strong  suspicion.  But,  when  it  is  proved  that  the 
wadding  used  in  loading  the  gun  was  found  in  an  adjacent 
hedge,  was  unrolled,  and  discovered  to  be  part  of  a  letter 
addressed  to  the  prisoner,  and  that  the  letter  itself,  from 
which  the  piece  had  been  torn,  was  found  in  his  possession, 
suspicion  becomes  certainty.  Both  parts  are  laid  before 
the  Jury,  and  in  that  moment  every  hope  of  the  murderer's 
escape  vanishes.  Have  we  anything  in  the  whole  range 
of  the  Christian  evidences  which  will  prove  the  claims 
of  Scripture  as  convincingly  as  the  fragments  of  the  letter 
prove  the  man's  guilt  1  I  believe  we  have.  I  believe 
the  evidence  placed  in  our  hands  by  the  fulfilled  predictions 
of  Scripture  does  more. 

In  the  dedication  to  his  book  on  the  Prophecies,  Bishop 
Newton  refers  to  some  conversations  he  had  with  Marshal 
Wade.  The  latter  laughed  at  the  alleged  proof  of  Christi- 
anity from  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  and  all  argument 
was  set  aside  with  the  observation  that  the  predictions  were 
written  after  the  events.  The  Bishop  urged  in  reply  that 
there  were  several  prophecies  which  were  not  fulfilled  till 
recent  times,  and  several  more  which  were  finding  their 
fulfilment  even  then,  all  of  which  were  beyond  doubt 
written  centuries  before  the  events  happened.  The  Marshal 
was  startled,  "and  said  he  must  acknowledge  that,  if 
this  point  could  be  proved  to  satisfaction,  there  would 
be  no  argument  against  such  plain  matter  of  fact;  it 
would  certainly  convince  him,  and,  he  believed,  would  be 
the  readiest  way  to  convince  every  reasonable  man  of  the 
the  truth  of   revelation." 

That  judgment  is  one  which  all  must  endorse.  If  it  is 
possible  to  produce  evidence  of  the  kind  referred  to  by 
Bishop    Newton,  then   the   inspiration  of   the  Scriptures   is 


10  CAN   THE    QUESTION    BE    ANSWERED  1 

no  longer  open  to  doubt,  nor  is  the  existence  of  Him 
from  whom  they  are  said  to  have  come.  As  this  is  a  point 
of  such  vast  importance  let  us 

WEIGH     THE     ARGUMENT 

for  a  moment.  None  have  better  information  in  regard  to 
our  own  families  than  we  ourselves  possess.  We  know  the 
present  condition  and  the  past  history  of  each  member  of 
them.  We  are  aware  of  the  circumstances  which  will 
largely  influence  their  future,  and  we  see  even  now  how 
these  circumstances  are  likely  to  affect  them.  Say,  then, 
that  we  are  asked  to  go  forward  in  thought  only  ten  years, 
and  to  state  distinctly  what  the  condition  of  each  member 
of  the  family  will  be  at  the  end  of  that  time,  to  say  who 
will  be  alive,  if  any ;  who,  if  any,  dead ;  in  what  place  each 
will  then  be  residing;  who  will  be  in  prosperous  circum- 
stances, who  in  circumstances  the  reverse.  How  should 
we  meet  the  demand1?  Should  we  entertain  the  questions 
seriously  even  for  a  moment  1  Much  as  we  do  know,  none 
but  a  madman  or  a  fool  could  suppose  us  capable  of 
resolving   such   points   as   these. 

Again :  we  all  have  some  acquaintance  with  the  city, 
town,  or  place  in  which  we  dwell.  We  can  say  whether 
there  is  promise  of  increased  population  and  prosperity,  or 
whether  a  decrease  of  both  is  threatened.  But,  thoroughly 
as  we  may  know  the  place  and  its  prospects,  will  any  one 
of  us  venture  to  leave  the  region  of  opinion  and  surmise, 
and  speak  minutely  and  positively  of  what  its  condition  will 
be  a  hundred  years  hence  1  Or,  to  take  another  illustration : 
there  are  men  now  guiding  the  destinies  of  Europe  who 
have  studied  politics  for  half  a  century.  Many  of  them 
have  had  long  and  accurate  knowledge  of  the  tendencies 
and  resources  of  the  various  countries,  and  of  the  dangers 
which  threaten  them  from  without  and  from  within.  Ask 
the   man,   who   has   the   keenest  vision   of   them   all,  what 


THE    FUTUKE    HID    FROM    HUMAN    VIEW.  II 

will  be  the  condition  at  the  close  of  the  next  half  century 
of  India,  or  Germany,  or  France,  or  Great  Britain.  Ask 
whether  Switzerland,  for  example,  will  then  retain  her 
independence,  or  have  been  seized  by  one  of  her  bigger 
neighbours,  and  in  the  latter  event,  by  which.  Suppose 
these  questions  gravely  put,  and  gravely  entertained,  will 
not  the  answer  be,  that  the  things  which  we  wish  to  know 
lie  far  beyond  the  range  of  the  keenest  sight  possessed  by 
man — that  the  wisest,  though  he  may  shrewdly  conjecture, 
cannot  write  a  single  page,  nor  pen  a  single  line  of  the 
story  of  the  future  1 

It  is,  perhaps,  scarcely  necessary  to  emphasize  this  by 
further  illustrations.  But  literature  abounds  with  proofs 
how  completely,  notwithstanding  all  we  say  about  insight 
and  foresight,  the  future  is  hid  from  us.  Malte  Brun  in 
his  description  of  Prussia,  says  that  "from  its  proximity 
to  Russia  it  must  be  in  many  respects  a  secondary  %>ower" 
little  anticipating  the  political  developments  of  present 
times.  "It  is  curious,"  Henry  Greville  writes  under  date 
March  20,  1848,  "that  Lord  Hardinge,  who  arrived  here 
on  Thursday,  passed  two  hours  at  Vienna,  and  saw  Metter- 
nich,  who  spoke  of  passing  events  without  the  slightest 
apprehension,  and  said  that  it  was  possible  there  might  be 
some  disturbances  in  different  parts  of  the  Empire,  but 
that  they  would  be  put  down  without  any  difficulty,  and  that 
he  had  no  intention  of  making  any  concessions  at  this 
time.  Four  days  afterwards  he  was  obliged  to  fly  from 
Vienna,  and  his  house  was  sacked  and  burnt."* 

Instances  of  similar  blindness  might  easily  be  multiplied, 
but  I  mention  three  only  which  have  a  common  bearing  on 
one  of  the  greatest  events  of  modern  times — the  regeneration 
of  Italy.  Macaulay  concludes  his  essay  on  Machiavelli 
with  the  words  :  "In  the  church  of  Santa  Croce  a  monu- 
ment was  erected   to  his  memory which  will 

be  approached  with  still  deeper  homage  when  the  object 
*  "Leaves  from  the  Diary  of  Henry  Greville,"  Vol.  L,  243. 


1 2  CAN    THE    QUESTION    BE    ANSWERED  1 

to  which  his  public  life  was  devoted  shall  be  attained, 
when  the  foreign  yoke  shall  be  broken,  when  a  second 
Procida  shall  avenge  the  ivrongs  of  Naples,  ivhen  a  happier 
Jiienzi  shall  restore  the  good  estate  of  Rome,  when  the 
streets  of  Florence  and  Bologna  shall  again  resound 
with  their  ancient  war-cry,  '  Popolo ;  popolo;  muoiano  % 
tiranni'"  This  was  written  in  1827  Who  knew  that 
in  the  days  of  the  men  then  living  all  these  aspirations 
would  be  fulfilled — that  every  tyrant  should  have  fled,  and 
the  land  be  no  more  darkened  with  the  shadow  of  an 
oppressor  % 

In  1851,  Mr.  Gladstone  published  his  letter  regarding 
the  condition  of  Naples.  Between  twenty  and  thirty 
thousand  political  prisoners  lay  crowded  together  in  the 
fortresses  and  jails.  No  man  raised  his  voice  on  behalf 
of  liberty,  or  even  fell  under  suspicion  of  holding  liberal 
opinions,  but  was  sent  into  exile  or  cast  into  a  dungeon. 
Mr.  Gladstone  published  his  indignant  appeal  to  the 
public  opinion  of  Europe,  thinking,  perhaps,  that  the 
Neapolitan  Government  might  be  shamed  into  humanity, 
but  seeing  no  other  hope  for  a  cruelly  oppressed  people. 
Who  could  have  foreseen  that  before  another  ten  years  had 
passed  that  that  land  should  be  free — free  as  it  had  not 
been  for  ages;  and  that  a  fugitive  from  his  beloved  Italy, 
then  wandering  on  the  far-distant  shores  of  America,  was 
the  man  through  whom  the  deliverance  should  come  %  Who 
was  then  able,  with  his  hand  upon  these  facts,  to  warn  the 
tyrant,  or  to  console  the  down-trodden  % 

The  last  and  not  least  startling  instance,  which  I  cite,  of 
man's  ignorance  of  the  future,  is  found  in  a  letter  written 
on  the  eve  of  Italy's  complete  deliverance.  So  late  as  the 
Spring  of  1866  George  A.  Sala  wrote  as  follows  regarding 
Venice :  "  When  is  the  day  of  her  deliverance  to  come, 
and  when  are  the  tears  which,  with  but  twelve  months' 
intermission,  have  flowed  for  half  a  century,  to  be  dried  *? 
She  waits  and  waits,  and  the  Italians  wait   too,   clenching 


THE  UNEXPECTED  HAPPENS.  13 

their  hands,  and  grinding  their  teeth.  .  .  .  It  is  im- 
possible to  cross  the  frontier,  or  to  be  half-an-hour  in  the 
Austro- Venetian  territory,  without  becoming  aware  that  the 
Austrian  '  Autograim ' — as  Mr.  Thackeray  called  the  double- 
headed  eagle — has  got  a  very  tight  grip  of  the  country. 
.  .  As  he  is  a  very  powerful  eagle,  strong  on  the  wing 
and  adamantine  in  the  talons,  the  contingency  of  his  giving 
u%>  his  Venetian  quarry  is,  to  say  the  least,  remote.  It  is  not 
impossible."  *  To  these  words  he  has  appended  the 
following  note  :  "  This  was  written  in  the  Spring.  In  the 
Summer  came  Sadowa,  and  the  Austrians  gave  up  Venice." 
"It  is,"  as  a  veteran  statesman  once  said,  "the  unex- 
pected that  happens."  The  anticipations  of  the  most  far- 
seeing,  and  the  precautions  of  the  wisest  are  mocked  again 
and  again  by  the  bitter  irony  of  events.  We  might  as  soon 
think  to  pluck  the  stars  from  heaven,  as  to  wrest  its  secrets 
from  the  future.  The  king,  when  he  bade  the  advancing 
waves  retire,  was  not  more  powerless  than  we,  when  we 
command  the  approaching  days  to  appear  and  tell  what 
things  they  bring.  We  cannot  foresee  even  dimly  the  events 
of  to-morrow  or  of  the  next  hour.  We  stand  before  a  wall  of 
impenetrable  darkness.  We  have  hopes  and  fears,  but  no 
certainties.  Thoughts  rise  up  within  our  bosom,  but  from 
the  future  there  comes  neither  voice  nor  sign.  If,  then, 
this  feat,  which  we  rightly  declare  is  impossible  for  man  to 
perform,  has  been  achieved — if  the  future  has  been  read, 
and,  not  only  years,  but  centuries  have  yielded  up  their 
secrets — if  we  produce  a  book  in  which  predictions,  so 
numerous,  and  varied,  and  minute  as  to  preclude  all  possi- 
bility of  chance,  were 

RECORDED  CENTURIES  BEFORE 

the  events  occurred  in  which  they  were  startlingly  fulfilled 

— will  it  be  any  longer  possible  to  doubt  that  God  is,  and 

that    this   is  His  word   to    us  ?      If   evidence  of   this  kind 

*  "Rome  and  Venice,"  pp.  33-36. 


14  CAN     THE     QUESTION    BE    ANSWERED1? 

can  really  be  produced,  doubt  will  be  an  impossibility. 
And  whether  our  evidence  be  of  this  kind  the  reader  will 
now  be  able  to  judge. 


CHAPTER    III. 


PREDICTIONS   REGARDING   TYRE   &  SIDON. 


O  SHOW  THE  nature  of  the  evidence  we  have  to 
offer  we  take  the  case  of 

TYRE. 


Its  doom  is  predicted  in  the  twenty-sixth  chapter  of  Ezekiel. 
A  graphic  picture  is  drawn  of  its  siege  and  capture  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  (verses  7-11).  The  powerful  fleet  of  Tyre 
swept  the  sea,  and  prevented  the  complete  investment  of  the 
city ;  but,  after  a  siege  of  thirteen  years,  it  was  at  last  taken 
by  the  Chaldean  army.  With  this  part  of  the  prophecy, 
however,  we  do  not  concern  ourselves.  The  genuineness  of 
the  book  of  Ezekiel  will  not  be  questioned,  but  still  it  would 
be  difficult  to  prove  that  the  prophecy  was  uttered  before 
this  event  took  place. 

More,  however,  was  predicted.  After  describing  the  ven- 
geance which  the  king  of  Babylon  will  inflict,  the  prophecy 
proceeds :  "  And  they  shall  lay  thy  stones,  and  thy  timber, 
and  thy  dust  in  the  midst  of  the  waters"  (verse  12).  Let 
the  change  of  person  be  noted.  Having  spoken  of  what 
Nebuchadnezzar  will  do,  it  is  added,  "And  they  shall,"  &c, 
as  if  others  were  to  be  joined  with  him  in  the  work  of 
destruction.  Light  is  thrown  upon  this  distinction  in  the 
third  and  fourth  verses.  God  will  cause  many  nations  to 
come  up  against  Tyre,    "as   the   sea   causes   his   waves   to 


16  TYRE     AND     SIDON. 

come  up"  (verse  3).  Shock  will  succeed  to  shock,  till  she 
is  utterly  desolate;  "and  they  shall  destroy  the  walls  of 
Tyrus,  and  break  down  her  towers;  I  will  also  scrape  her 
dust  from  her,  and  make  her  like  the  top  of  a  rock" 
(verse  4). 

Previous  to  the  fall  of  their  ancient  city,  the  Tyrians  had 
removed  the  bulk  of  their  treasures  to  an  island  in  their 
possession,  half  a  mile  from  the  shore.  Taught  now  by 
bitter  experience,  they  resolved  to  trust  themselves  no 
more  within  walls,  which  had  not  round  them  the  defence 
of  a  watery  girdle.  Tyre  was  mistress  of  the  sea,  and  could 
defend  herself  there.  The  old  city  was  therefore  deserted,, 
and  no  attempt  was  made  to  rebuild  it  after  the  Babylonian 
army  had  retired.  So  far  the  prophecy  had  been  fulfilled, 
but  only  so  far.  Tyre  was  overthrown  and  spoiled;  the- 
noise  of  her  songs  had  ceased ;  the  sound  of  her  harps  was. 
no  more  heard  (verse  13);  the  great  and  joyous  city  was, 
abased  and  desolate.  But  the  ruins  still  stood.  The  words 
which  declared  that  the  stones  and  the  timber  should  be 
cast  into  the  sea,  and  the  very  dust  be  scraped  from  the 
city's  site,  had  not  been  fulfilled ;  and  it  seemed  most  im- 
probable that  they  ever  would  be.  What  could  the  words, 
mean?  Nebuchadnezzar  had  taken  a  full  vengeance,  but 
he  had  never  thought  of  this.  Even  in  his  case,  furious 
though  he  might  be  at  the  long-continued  resistance,  it 
would  have  been  the  very  frenzy  of  revenge.  Who  then, 
would  be  found  to  wreak  such  unheard-of  vengeance  upon, 
the  unoffending  ruins'? 

More  than  two  hundred  and  forty  years  rolled  on,  and1 
there  was  no  answer.  For  two  and  a  half  centuries  those 
words  of  Scripture  seemed  a  vain  menace.  Then  the 
fame  of  Alexander's  swift  and  all-conquering  career  sent 
a  thrill  of  alarm  through  the  East.  The  Tyrian  ambas- 
sadors, who  hastened  to  meet  him,  were  favourably  received.. 
It  seemed  as  if  this  storm-cloud  were  about  to  pass  harmlessly 
over  them.     But  suddenly  the  conqueror  expressed  a  desire 


LIMITS    OF    THE     INQUIRY.  17 

to  worship  within  their  city.  They  knew  only  too  well 
what  that  request  meant.  Alexander  would  not  enter 
alone ;  and,  once  there,  those  who  entered  as  worshippers 
would  remain  as  masters.  The  Tyrians  resolved  to  abide 
the  issue  of  war,  rather  than  tamely  hand  over  their  city 
to  the  Macedonian  king.  Alexander's  army  marched  to  the 
sea-shore,  and  there,  with  half  a  mile  of  blue  waters 
between  them  and  it,  stood  the  city  they  had  come  to 
attack.  How  could  it  be  taken1?  Alexander's  plan  was 
speedily  formed.  He  determined  to  construct  a  solid  cause- 
way through  the  sea,  over  which  his  forces  might  advance 
to  the  assault.  And  now  this  word,  which  had  waited  so 
long,  was  at  last 

LITERALLY     FULFILLED. 

The  walls,  and  the  towers,  and  the  ruined  houses,  and 
palaces,  and  temples,  of  the  ancient  city  were  pulled  down, 
and  the  stones  and  the  timber  of  Tyre  were  laid  "in  the 
midst  of  the  water."  Her  mounds  of  ruins  were  cleared 
away ;  and  so  great  was  the  demand  for  material  in  this 
vast  undertaking,  that  the  very  dust  seems  to  have  been 
scraped  from  the  site  and  laid  in  the  sea.  Though  cen- 
turies had  passed  after  the  word  was  spoken,  and  had  seen 
no  fulfilment,  it  was  not  forgotten ;  and  the  event  declared 
that  it  was  His  word  whose  judgments,  though  they  may 
linger  long,  come  surely,  and  fall  at  last  with  resistless 
might. 

I  have  dwelt  upon  this  instance  simply  as  an  example  of 
the  kind  of  evidence  we  are  able  to  bring  forward.  In- 
dubitable though  the  prophecy  is,  I  press  for  no  conclusion 
from  its  fulfilment.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  in  this 
inquiry,  to  place  it  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt  that  we 
are  dealing  with  veritable  prophecies,  and  that  the  pre- 
diction is  separated  from  the  event  by  such  an  interval  as 
must  exclude  the  possibility  of  human  foresight.  It  could 
be   proved   satisfactorily  to  most  minds   that   the   book  of 


18  TYRE     TO     SIDON. 

Ezekiel  was  in  existence  long  before  the  time  of  Alexander; 
but  still  doubt  might  creep  in.  The  suggestion  might  be 
made  that  this  particular  prediction  was  added,  or  amended, 
by  a  later  hand. 

We  shall  therefore  limit  the  present  inquiry  to  those 
prophecies,  regarding  whose  pre-existence  to  the  events  of 
which  they  speak,  there  can,  in  no  mind,  be  any  doubt 
whatever.  I  enter  into  no  argument  as  to  the  age  of  the 
Old  Testament  Scriptures.  I  ask  no  admission  to  be  made 
in  regard  to  the  antiquity  of  any  one  of  the  prophetical 
books.  We  shall  come  down  to  a  time  later  than  any  that 
has  ever  been  named  for  their  origin,  and  our  argument 
shall  stand  or  fall  by  the  prophecies  which  have  been 
fulfilled  since  then.  Everyone  is  fully  satisfied  that  all  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  were  in  existence  before  the 
time  of  our  Lord.  It  is  also  known,  that  since  that  time, 
the  Old  Testament  has  been  in 

A     TWOFOLD     CUSTODY. 

It  has  been  in  the  hands  of  both  Jews  and  Christians, 
between  whom  there  could  be  no  collusion.  There  is 
therefore  absolute  certainty  that  the  prophecies  are  as  old 
as  the  coming  of  Christ,  and  that,  as  they  existed  then,  we 
possess  them  now.  If  then  we  take  only  such  predictions 
as  have  been  fufilled  at,  or  since,  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  era,  every  doubt  will  be  removed  and  every  cavil 
prevented  in  regard  to  the  interval  between  the  prophecy 
and  the  event ;  and  within  these  limits  we  shall  confine 
our  present  argument. 

We  have  spoken  of  Tyre.  There  is  one  part  of  the 
prophecy  which  falls  within  the  limits  we  have  now  set 
ourselves.  We  read  (Ezek.  xxvi.  13,  14):  "I  will  cause 
the  noise  of  thy  songs  to  cease;  and  the  sound  of  thy 
harps  shall  be  no  more  heard     .     .     .     Thou  shalt  be 

BUILT     NO     MORE." 
This  sentence  of  the  divine  judgment  stands  as  a  challenge 


DOOM    OF    SIDON.  19 

to  all  time.     It  has  been  unanswered,  save  by  the  silence 

of   generations.      It   is   unanswered   still.      Palae-Tyrus,   the 

continental  Tyre,  which  was  captured  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 

and  the  ruins  of  which  were  cleared  away  by  Alexander, 

has 

NEVER     BEEN     REBUILT. 

The  site  remains  to-day  without  even   a   mound   to   mark 
it,  and  has  to  be  determined  solely  by  the  notices  in  ancient 
writers  which  give  its  distance  from  the  island  Tyre. 
Let  us  now  turn  for  a  moment  from  Tyre  to 

SIDON, 

a  neighbouring  and  still  more  ancient  city,  which  had  fallen 
into  comparative  decay  when  Tyre  was  in  its  splendour. 
Sidon  still  remains,  possessing  even  now  about  ten  thousand 
inhabitants.  It  has  its  walls,  its  castle,  and  its  mounds  of 
ruins,  which  testify  to  the  city's  ancient  extent  and  great- 
ness. It  is  still,  in  that  wretched  country,  a  place  of  im- 
portance and  strength.  But  in  Ezekiel  (xxviii.  20-23)  there 
is  a  prediction  regarding  Sidon  also :  "  And  the  word  of 
the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying,  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face 
toward  Zidon,  and  prophesy  against  it,  and  say,  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  God :  Behold,  I  am  against  thee,  O  Zidon ;  and  I 
will  be  glorified  in  the  midst  of  thee :  and  they  shall  know 
that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  shall  have  executed  judgments 
in  her,  and  shall  be  sanctified  in  her.  For  I  will  send  into 
her    pestilence,    and    blood    in    her    streets;    and    the 

WOUNDED     SHALL     FALL     IN     THE     MIDST     OF    HER    WITH    THE 

sword  upon  her  on  every  side."  Observe  the  peculiar 
judgment  of  Sidon.  Blood  will  be  sent  into  her  streets; 
her  wounded  shall  fall  in  the  midst  of  her ;  the  sword  is  to 
be  upon  her  on  every  side.  No  doom  of  extinction  is  pro- 
nounced against  her.  She  is  to  be  spared,  but  she  is  to 
suffer.  One  or  two  facts  from  her  long  history  will  show 
how  the  words  have  been  fulfilled.  Under  the  Persian 
dominion,   when  Tyre  was  deserted,   Sidon  was  still   great 


20  TYRE     AND     SIDON. 

and  populous.  It  rebelled  under  Artaxerxes  Ochus,  and, 
after  a  successful  resistance,  was  betrayed  to  the  enemy. 
When  all  hope  of  saving  their  city  was  gone,  40,000  citizens 
chose  to  die  rather  than  submit  to  Persian  vengeance. 
They  shut  themselves  up  with  their  wives  and  children,  set 
fire  to  their  dwellings,  and  perished  amid  the  flames.  The 
ashes  of  the  city  were  sold  for  an  immense  sum.  It  was 
soon  rebuilt  by  the  citizens  who  had  been  absent  at  the  time 
of  the  siege;  but  the  doom  of  suffering  still  rested  on  it. 
During  the  Crusades  it  was  taken  several  times  and  sacked. 
It  was  finally  retaken  from  the  Crusaders  by  Bibars,  Sultan 
of  Egypt  and  Syria,  in  1290.  But,  in  every  commotion 
which  has  troubled  that  unhappy  land,  Sidon,  has  had  her 
share.  It  has  been  the  scene  of  struggles  between  the 
Druses  and  the  Turks,  and,  again,  between  the  Turks  and 
the  French.  So  late  as  1840,  when  Ibrahim  Pasha  was 
driven  out  of  Syria,  it  was  bombarded  by  the  combined 
fleets  of  England,  Austria,  and  Turkey,  and  captured  by 
Admiral  Napier,  when  again  blood  was  sent  into  her  streets, 
and  her  wounded  fell  in  the  midst  of  her.  Suppose  now 
that  the  names  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  had 

CHANGED     PLACES 

— that  it  had  been  said  Tyre  was  to  live,  and  Sidon  to  be 
utterly  destroyed  and  never  to  be  rebuilt,  how  complete 
would  have  been  the  refutation  of  Ezekiel's  claim  to  speak 
the  word  of  the  Lord  !  But  how  is  it  that  this  interchange 
of  names  did  not  take  place?  How  is  it  that  the  city 
which  has  never  been  rebuilt  is  that  of  which  this  very 
thing  and  no  other  is  prophesied,  and  that  the  city  which 
has  continued  to  exist  is  that  which  by  the  prophet  is  beheld 
as  existing1?  And,  even  though  this  could  be  explained,  a 
harder  question  remains.  Sidon,  like  many  another  ancient 
city,  might  have  dwindled  into  insignificance,  so  that,  in  its 
misery  and  defencelessness,  it  should  have  offered  no  re- 
sistance to  any,  and  have  tempted  no  one's  cupidity.     How 


FATE     OF     SIDON.  21 

has  it  happened  that  these  words  of  the  prophet  paint  her 
as  she  has  been,  and  as  she  is  to-day, — a  place  of  strength 
which  age  after  age  has  been  fought  for,  and  has  been  passed 
on,  wet  with  blood,  from  one  possessor  to  another1?  There 
is  one  explanation  in  which  alone,  far  though  it  takes  us,  the 
mind  will  rest  with  perfect  satisfaction.  It  is,  that  He  speaks 
here  whose  thought  grasps  the  ages,  and  before  whom  the 
future  has  no  veil,  and  who,  in  these  proofs  of  His  faithful- 
ness, writes  on  man's  heart  the  assurance,  "Heaven  and 
earth  shall  pass  away,  but  My  words  shall  not  pass  away." 


CHAPTER  IV. 


EGYPT. 


ERE  WE  ASKED  to  say  what  country  it  is  which  is 
celebrated  alike  for  the  highest  antiquity  as  for 
early,  and  unequalled,  and  long-continued  eminence 
in  science,  in  the  arts,  in  an  enlightened  and  refined 
civilization,  in  luxury  and  magnificence — which  has  con- 
tinued through  all  history  a  realm  of  wonder,  and  which 
still  plays  a  part  in  the  commerce  and  the  politics  of  the 
world — there  could  be  but  one  answer.  It  is  the  land  of 
Egypt.  Like  its  own  monuments,  which,  in  their  collossal 
greatness,  bid  a  calm  but  proud  defiance  to  the  ravages  of 
time,  this  land  lives  on.  It  is  still  the  home  of  the  des- 
cendants of  its  ancient  masters.  It  still  possesses  the 
blessing  of  that  rare  fertility  which  proved  the  foundation 
of  its  past  splendour.  And  if  it  does,  like  its  monuments, 
show  that  in  the  struggle  with  time  it  has  not  come  off 
unscathed,  if  the  hand  of  decay  has  left  its  impress,  it 
may  find  some  satisfaction  in  the  thought  that  to  its  long 
and  proud  career  there  is  no  parallel  in  the  whole  world 
beside. 

But  Egypt  has  also  another  claim  to  attention.  In  no 
land  have  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  received  a 
more  striking  fulfilment  than  in  this.  In  the  misery  of  its 
people  and  the  ruin  of  its  cities  it  bears  overwhelming, 
though    involuntary,    testimony  to  the   claims  of  Scripture. 


PREDICTION   REGARDING    ITS   ANCIENT   CAPITAL.  23 

To  part  of  this  testimony  we  shall  now  listen. 

THEBES, 
the  ancient  capital  of  Egypt,  was  called  by  the  Greeks 
Diospolis  (the  city  of  Jupiter).  This  appears  to  have  been 
a  literal  translation  of  the  Egyptian  name  No- Anion  which 
appears  in  Nahum  iii.  8.  This  signifies  the  portion,  or 
abode,  of  the  god  Amon,  in  whom  the  Greeks  believed 
they  recognized  their  own  Zeus,  the  Roman  Jupiter.  The 
first  part  of  this  name,  No,  is  that  by  which  the  city 
is  generally  designated  in  the  Scriptures.  The  praises  of 
the  city  with  its  hundred  gates  were  sung  of  old  by  Homer ; 
and  the  graphic  picture  which  the  poet  presents  of  its 
populousness  is  outshone  by  the  sober  statement  of  Tacitus 
that  it  could  send  into  the  field  an  army  of  seven  hundred 
thousand  men.  Diodorus  Siculus,  who  visited  Egypt  about 
50  B.C.,  and  who  saw  Thebes  only  in  its  ruin,  cannot 
restrain  his  admiration.  The  sun  had  never  seen,  he  says, 
so  magnificent  a  city.  "Never  was  there  a  city,"  he 
exclaims,  "which  received  so  many  offerings  in  silver, 
gold,  and  ivory,  collossal  statues,  and  obelisks,  each  cut 
from  a  single  stone.  Four  principal  temples  are  especially 
admired  there,  the  most  ancient  of  which  was  surpass- 
ingly grand  and  sumptuous.  It  was  thirteen  stadia  (one 
mile  and  three  quarters)  in  circumference,  and  surrounded 
by  walls  twenty-four  feet  in  thickness,  and  forty-five  cubits 
high.  The  richness  and  workmanship  of  its  ornaments 
were  correspondent  to  the  majesty  of  the  building,  which 
many  kings  contributed  to  embellish." 

The  testimony  of  Diodorus  is  amply  confirmed  by  the 
remains.  The  stupendous  ruins  of  Luxor  and  Carnac,  parts 
of  the  ancient  No  which  are  still  inhabited,  excite  to-day 
the  same  feelings  of  admiration  and  amazement.  The  great 
temple  of  Carnac  "is  the  largest  and  most  splendid  ruin 
of  which,  perhaps,  either  ancient  or  modern  times  can 
boast."*  "All  here  is  sublime,  all  majestic.  With  pain 
*  Wilkinson. 


24  EGYPT. 

one  tears  oneself  from  Thebes.  Her  monuments  fix  the 
traveller's  eyes,  and  fill  his  mind  with  vast  ideas.  Beholding 
collossal  figures  and  stately  obelisks  which  seem  to  surpass 
human  powers,  he  says,  'Man  has  done  this,'  and  feels 
himself  and  his  species  ennobled."* 

Of  the  Great  Hall  Miss  Amelia  B.  Edwards  writes,  "It 
is  a  place  that  has  been  much  written  about  and  often 
painted;  but  of  which  no  writing  and  no  art  can  convey 
more  than  a  dwarfed  and  pallid  impression.  To  describe 
it,  in  the  sense  of  building  up  a  recognisable  image  by 
means  of  words,  is  impossible.  The  scale  is  too  vast;  the 
effect  too  tremendous;  the  sense  of  one's  own  dumbness, 
and  littleness,  and  incapacity,  too  complete  and  crushing. 
It  is  a  place  that  strikes  you  into  silence ;  that  empties  you, 
as  it  were,  not  only  of  words,  but  of  ideas.  Nor  is  this  a 
first  effect  only.  Later  in  the  year,  when  we  came  back 
and  moored  close  by,  and  spent  long  days  among  the 
ruins,  I  found  I  never  had  a  word  to  say  in  the  Great  Hall, 
.     .     .     I  could  only  look  and  be  silent. 

"Yet  to  look  is  something  if  one  can  but  succeed  in 
remembering.  ...  I  stand  once  more  among  those 
mighty  columns,  which  radiate  into  avenues  from  whatever 
point  one  takes  them.  I  see  them  swathed  in  coiled 
shadows  and  bread  bands  of  light.  I  see  them  sculptured 
and  painted  with  shapes  of  Gods  and  Kings,  with  blazon- 
ings  of  royal  names,  with  sacrificial  altars,  and  forms  of 
sacred  beasts  and  emblems  of  wisdom  and  truth.  The 
shafts  of  these  columns  are  enormous.  I  stand  at  the 
foot  of  one — or  of  what  seems  to  be  the  foot;  for  the 
original  pavement  seems  to  be  buried  seven  feet  below. 
Six  men  standing  with  outstretched  arms,  finger  tip  to 
finger  tip,  could  barely  span  it  round.  It  casts  a  shadow 
twelve  feet  in  breadth — such  a  shadow  as  might  be  cast  by 
a  tower.  The  capital  that  juts  out  so  high  above  my  head 
looks  as  if  it  might  have  been  put  there  to  support  the 
.*  Savaiy. 


GLORIES    OF    THEBES.  25 

heavens.  It  is  carved  in  the  semblance  of  a  full-blown 
lotus,  and  glows  with  undying  colours — colours  that  are 
still  fresh,  though  laid  on  by  hands  that  have  been  dust 
these  three  thousand  years  and  more."* 

The  impression  produced  by  another  of  these  structures 
is  equally  overpowering.  "  The  temple  of  Luxor  presents 
to  the  traveller  at  once  one  of  the  most  splendid  groups 
of  Egyptian  grandeur.  The  extensive  propylason,  with 
two  obelisks  and  colossal  statues  in  front,  the  thick 
groups  of  enormous  columns,  the  variety  of  apartments 
and  the  sanctuary  it  contains,  the  beautiful  ornaments 
which  adorn  every  part  of  the  walls  and  columns  described 
by  Mr.  Hamilton,  cause  in  the  astonished  traveller  an 
oblivion  of  all  he  has  seen  before.  If  his  attention  be 
attracted  to  the  north  side  of  Thebes  by  the  towering 
remains  that  project  a  great  height  above  the  wood 
of  palm  trees,  he  will  gradually  enter  that  forest-like 
assemblage  of  ruins  of  temples,  columns,  obelisks,  colossi, 
sphinxes,  portals,  and  an  endless  number  of  other  astonishing 
objects  that  will  convince  him  at  once  of  the  impossibility 
of  a  description.  ...  It  is  absolutely  impossible  to 
imagine  the  scene  displayed  without  seeing  it.  The  most 
sublime  ideas  that  can  be  formed  from  the  most  magni- 
ficent specimens  of  our  present  architecture  would  give 
a  very  incorrect  picture  of  these  ruins ;  for  such  is  the 
difference,  not  only  in  magnitude,  but  in  form,  proportion, 
and  construction,  that  even  the  pencil  can  convey  but  a 
faint  idea  of  the  whole.  It  appeared  to  me  like  entering 
a  city  of  giants,  who,  after  a  long  conflict,  were  all 
destroyed,  leaving  the  ruins  of  their  various  temples  as 
the  only  proofs  of  their  former  existence."  f  The  tombs 
of  the  kings,  excavated  in  the  rugged,  barren  mountains 
which  skirt  the  city  on  the  west  have  added  to  the  aston- 
ishment with  which  travellers  have  surveyed  this  crowning 
marvel  of  the  wonders  of  Egypt.  "Nothing  that  has  ever 
*  A  Thousand  Miles  Up  the  Nile,"  219-220.     t  Belzoni. 


26  EGYPT. 

been  said  about  them  had  prepared  me  for  their  extra- 
ordinary grandeur.  You  enter  a  sculptured  portal  in  the 
face  of  these  wild  cliffs,  and  find  yourself  in  a  long  and 
lofty  gallery,  opening  or  narrowing,  as  the  case  may  be, 
into  successive  halls  and  chambers,  all  of  which  are 
covered  with  white  stucco,  and  this  white  stucco  brilliant 
with  colours  fresh  as  they  were  thousands  of  years  ago. 
.     .     .     They  are,  in  fact,  gorgeous  palaces."* 

But  on  these  ruins  another  truth  is  written  besides  that 
of  man's  greatness,  or  the  vanity  of  earthly  glory.  "Such 
vast  and  surprising  remains  are  still  to  be  seen,"  says 
Pococke,  "  of  such  magnificence  and  solidity,  as  may 
convince  any  one  who  beholds  them  that,  without  some 
extraordinary  accident,  they  must  have  lasted  for  ever; 
which  seems  to  have  been  the  intention  of  the  founders 
of  them."  Of  this  "extraordinary  accident"  the  Scriptures 
have  something  quite  as  extraordinary  to  say. 

In  Ezekiel  xxx.  14-16  there  is  mention  made  of  No  in 
each  of  the  three  verses.  The  story  of  her  then  future  is 
told  in  three  brief  sentences :  "I  will  execute  judgments  in 
No"— "I  will  cut  off  the  multitude  of  No"— "And  No 
shall  be  broken  up."  "I  will  execute  judgments  in  No," 
seems  to  point  to  something  more  than  an  ordinary  tale 
of  siege  and  capture.  Does  the  after-fate  of  Thebes  stand 
out,  then,  as  singular  on  the  page  of  Egyptian  history  1 
The  judgments  were  so  marked  and  awful  that  historians 
have,  unbidden,  supplied  the  answer.  Thebes  sank  beneath 
two  of  the  most  terrible  blows  ever  dealt  by  the  hand 
of  man,  and  both  fell  after  the  prediction  was  uttered. 
The  prophecies  of  Ezekiel  were  written  in  the  time  of 
Nebuchadnezzar :  and,  thirteen  years  after  his  dynasty  was 
overthrown  and  Chaldea  had  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  Persians,  Cambyses,  during  his  invasion  of  Egypt 
(about  525  B.C.),  captured  Thebes,  and  poured  out  upon 
its  devoted  head  the  wrath  of  his  insane  ferocity.  Its 
*  Dean  Stanley. 


THE  JUDGMENT  OF  THEBES.  27 

majestic  temples  were  consumed  with  fire ;  and  the  power 
of  the  victorious  host  was  bent  to  overthrow,  or  mar,  its 
colossal  statues.  Although  the  city  sprang  up  again,  it 
never  regained  its  ancient  splendour.  The  hand  of  an 
irreversible  judgment  was  laid  also  upon  the  sources  of  its 
wealth  and  greatness.  It  ceased  to  be  Egypt's  chief  city. 
The  capital  was  removed  in  turn  to  Memphis,  Sais,  and 
Alexandria.  After  the  Greek  conquest,  the  streams  of 
commerce  by  which  it  had  been  fed  were  turned  in  other 
directions.  "Commercial  wealth,  on  the  accession  of  the 
Ptolemies,  began  to  flow  in  other  channels.  Coptos  and 
Appollinopolis  succeeded  to  the  lucrative  trade  of  Arabia, 
and  Ethiopia  no  longer  contributed  to  the  revenues  of 
Thebes."*  Yet,  notwithstanding  its  long  decline,  when 
the  second  stroke  fell,  in  the  beginning  of  the  first  century 
preceding  the  Christian  era,  Thebes  was  even  then  one  of 
the  wealthiest  cities  in  the  land.  The  blow  was  dealt  by  one 
of  Egypt's  own  princes,  Ptolemy  Lathyrus,  the  grandfather 
of  Cleopatra,  about  the  year  85  B.C. ;  and  the  greatness 
that  still  remained  to  the  ancient  city  can  be  measured  by 
the  fact  that  for  three  years  it  defied  all  the  efforts  of  the 
besiegers.  But  the  victor  exacted  a  terrible  vengeance. 
It  was  almost  entirely  levelled  to  the  ground,  and  the  words 
of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  verses  found  a  complete 
fulfilment.  God  had  executed  judgments  in  No ;  its 
multitude   was   cut   off,    and   has   never   returned. 

It  may  seem  that,  in  dealing  with  this  prophecy,  we  are 
overstepping  the  limits  we  set  ourselves  when  we  promised 
to  bring  forward  only  such  prophecies  as  have  been  ful- 
filled since  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era;  but,  if  in 
this  instance  we  had  had  to  go  beyond  our  self-imposed 
boundary,  the  case  is  so  clear  and  striking  that  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  have  passed  it  over  in  silence.  The 
third  part  of  the  prophecy,  however,  portraying  as  it  does 
the  after  and  permanent  condition  of  the  great  city,  falls 
*  Wilkinson. 


158  EGYPT. 

most  assuredly  within  our  limits.  "And  No,"  the  prophet 
continues,  "  shall  be  broken  up."  Too  much  stress,  it  might 
be  thought,  should  not  be  laid  upon  the  words;  but  the 
student  of  the  fulfilled  prophecies  of  Scripture  learns  that 
their  words  need  no  screen  nor  apology — that  the  very  heart 
of  the  wonder  lies  in  their  complete  and  minute  accom- 
plishment. The  prediction  finds  its  interpretation  in  the 
event.  No  was  literally  broken  up.  Strabo  visited  the  ruins 
about  25  B.C.,  and  found  the  city,  which  only  sixty  years 
before  still  retained  its  majestic  unity,  divided  into  many 
separate  villages.  As  Strabo  found  it,  it  has  remained  ever 
since;  and  the  ruins  are  to-day  portioned  out  between  nine 
hamlets.  Thebes  was  to  endure,  but  only  in  fragments. 
How  came  the  prophet  to  pen  the  words :  "  And  No  shall 
be  broken  up'"?  In  summing  up  the  destiny  of  Egypt's 
great  and  ancient  capital,  how  did  it  happen  that  the  finger 
was  laid  upon  the  very  condition  it  has  maintained  for 
nineteen  centuries  ? 

The  Old  Testament  contains  so  many  distinct  predictions 
regarding  Egypt  generally,  that  we  may  say  they  have 
written  its  history,  and  described  the  present  position  of  the 
country,  and  the  condition  of  its  people.  Jeremiah  foretells 
that,  with  the  overthrow  of  Pharoah  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
a  decline  will  set  in  which  will  deepen  evermore,  and  for 
which  no  remedy  shall  be  found.  "Go  up  into  Gilead," 
he  says,  "and  take  balm,  O  virgin  daughter  of  Egypt:  in 
vain  dost  thou  use  many  medicines ;  there  is  no  healing  for 
thee"  (Jer.  xlvi.  11).  We  shall  confine  ourselves,  however, 
to  the  prophecies  concerning  Egypt  contained  in  the  twenty- 
ninth  and  thirtieth  chapters  of  Ezekiel,  and  the  nineteenth 
chapter  of  Isaiah.  In  Ezekiel  xxix.  the  approaching  conquest 
of  Egypt  by  Nebuchadnezzar  is  foretold.  The  Egyptians  are 
to  be  led  away  into  captivity  and  the  land  is  to  be  desolate 
for  forty  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  they  are  to  return, 
but  their  greatness  is  not  to  be  restored.  In  accordance  with 
the  words  we  have  quoted  from  Jeremiah,   Egypt  will  in 


ITS    DECLINE   PREDICTED.  29 

vain  seek  healing  for  her  wound.     This 

DOOM     OF     DECLINE 

is  repeated  again  and  again.  It  shall  not  "any  more  lift 
itself  up  above  the  nations ;  and  I  will  diminish  them  that 
they  shall  no  more  rule  over  the  nations"  (Ezek.  xxix.  15); 
"  her  foundations  shall  be  broken  down.  .  .  .  The  pride 
of  her  power  shall  come  down"  (xxx.  4,  6).  This  great 
country  is,  therefore,  depicted  as  undergoing  a  gradual  and 
total  decay. 

To  be  convinced  that  this  prediction  was  not  due  to 
human  foresight,  we  have  only  to  remember  what  Egypt 
was  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  and  for  ages 
after.  Even  then  she  seemed  worthy  of  the  fame  which 
fixed  the  World's  gaze  upon  her  in  admiring  reverence. 
She  had  been  the  mother  of  science  and  letters  and  art.  At 
the  fire  which  burned  upon  her  hearth,  the  nations  had 
kindled  the  lamp  of  knowledge,  which  has  burned  on  age 
after  age,  and  which  now  flames  so  brightly.  Her  greatness 
was  unique,  It  was  more  true  and  human  than  that  of  any 
other  ancient  land  save  Greece ;  and  she  had  the  unity,  and 
repose,  and  calm  majesty  which  Greece  lacked.  She  stood 
alone  among  the  nations,  great,  wise,  self-respecting ; 
around  her  the  choicest  treasures  of  earth;  her  land  filled 
with  imperishable  monuments  of  might  and  skill,  and 
genius;  her  people,  in  their  order  and  enlightenment  and 
civilization,  a  marvel  to  all  time.  The  foundation  of  her 
greatness  was  not  her  military  power,  but  the  exhaustless 
wealth  of  her  soil.  That  still  remained;  and,  though  she 
had  felt  the  touch  of  decay,  there  was  nothing  in  the  time 
of  our  Lord  to  indicate  that  Egypt's  day  was  past.  It  was 
within  the  range,  not  only  of  possibility,  but  of  probability 
that  she  might  yet  again  be  mistress  of  her  destiny,  and 
that  her  old  splendour  might  return.  Her  fertility  won 
for  her  even  then  the  title  of  "the  granary  of  the  world." 
Augustus,  after  the  defeat  of  Antony,  found  so  great  wealth 


30  EGYPT. 

in  Egypt  that  with  it  he  paid  all  the  arrears  due  to  his  army, 
and  the  debts  he  had  incurred  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the 
war.  "It  is  said,  too,  that  after  all  the  spoliations,  the 
wealth  and  resources  of  Egypt  appeared  to  him  so  for- 
midable, that  he  was  afraid  to  intrust  that  province  to 
the  charge  of  any  man  of  rank  or  interest,  lest  he  should 
raise  up  a  rival  to  himself.  He  therefore  committed  the 
government  of  the  country  to  Cornelius  Gallus,  a  citizen 
of  the  equestrian  order,  and  a  person  of:  very  low  extraction ; 
he  would  not  allow  the  city  of  Alexandria  to  possess  any 
municipal  council;  and  he  declared  all  Egyptians  incapable 
of  being  admitted  into  the  Senate  at  Rome."  *  "  Till  the 
moment  of  the  Arabian  conquest,"  says  Dr.  Vincent, 
"Alexandria  continued  the  second  city  in  the  (Roman) 
empire  in  rank,  and  the  first,  perhaps,  in  wealth,  commerce, 
and  prosperity." 

Even  in  the  seventh  century  of  our  era  Egypt  was  still 
so  powerful  that  the  Mahommedan  hosts,  though  flushed 
with  victory,  hesitated  to  attack  it.  The  event  showed 
that  their  caution  was  not  uncalled  for.  Babylon  of 
Egypt,  on  the  ruins  of  which  the  town  of  Fostat  was 
built,  detained  them  seven  months.  The  siege  of  Alex- 
andria lasted  fourteen  months,  and  the  Arabs  lost  before 
it  twenty-three  thousand  men ;  and,  after  all,  its  capture 
was  due  to  internal  treachery,  and  not  to  the  superior 
power  of  the  assailants.  The  sight  of  its  magnificence 
and  wealth  filled  the  children  of  the  East  with  amazement. 
"  '  I  have  taken,'  said  Amrou  to  the  caliph,  '  the  great  city 
of  the  West.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  enumerate  the 
variety  of  its  riches  and  beauty,  and  I  content  myself  with 
observing  that  it  contains  4,000  palaces,  400  theatres  or 
places  of  amusement,  12,000  shops  for  the  sale  of  vege- 
table food,  and  40,000  tributary  Jews.' "  f  The  destruction 
of  the  royal  library,  which  was  distributed  among  the  baths 
of  the  city,  and  which  supplied  them  with  fuel  for  six 
*  Dr.  Arnold.  +  Gibbon. 


THE    DOOM    OF    DECLINE.  31 

months,  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  of  the 
world's  calamities.  Alexandria  did  not  stand  alone.  Its 
condition  was  an  indication  of  the  riches  and  strength  of 
the  whole  country.  It  would  have  been  impossible  for  the 
Arabs  to  have  conquered  Egypt,  or  to  have  afterwards  held 
it,  had  not  the  people,  groaning  under  the  oppression  of 
their  Greek  masters,  thrown  themselves  into  the  arms  of 
the  invaders. 

So  late,  then,  as  the  year  638,  as  far  as  human  foresight 
is  concerned,  the  fulfilment  of  this  prediction  could  not 
have  been  foretold  as  even  probable.  What  have  the  after- 
history  of  Egypt  and  its  present  condition  to  say  regarding 
it  1  Have  the  last  twelve  centuries  proved  or  disproved 
the  Scripture  1     Here  is  the  answer  : — 

There  has  been,  as  was  predicted,  a  constant  decline. 
From  the  time  of  the  Babylonian  invasion  there  was  no 
revival  of  Egypt's  greatness  and  pre-eminence  among  the 
nations.  Many  medicines  were  tried,  but  she  was  not 
healed.  In  the  Egypt  of  the  Pharaohs,  of  the  Persian 
dominion,  of  the  Ptolemies,  of  the  Roman  Empire,  of  the 
Mohammedans,  we  have  a  gradual  but  continuous  descent. 
After  the  Arab  conquest  the  degeneration  proceeded  with 
rapid  strides,  till  Egypt  has  become  what  it  is  to-day.  Its 
science,  and  learning,  and  art,  no  less  than  its  magnificence, 
and  power,  and  prestige,  have  wholly  perished.  Along  that 
pathway  of  the  past  everything  that  made  the  Egyptians 
what  they  were  has  been  wholly  lost. 

It  was  believed  by  many  that  a  change  for  the  better 
had  set  in  under  the  present  dynasty.  The  improve- 
ment is  certaintly  not  to  be  seen  in  hopelessly  embarrassed 
finances,  or  in  the  character  of  the  reigning  class;  and, 
what  has  a  still  more  important  bearing  on  the  question  of 
the  prospects  of  Egypt,  no  improvement  can  be  discerned 
in  the  mass  of  the  people.  A  letter  which  appeared  in  the 
Times  in  the  beginning  of  1875,  and  gave  to  capitalists  and 
others  a  needed  note  of   warning,   presents  a  view  of  the 


32  EGYPT. 

present  state  of  the  country  which  no  one  who  knows 
Egypt  will  dispute: — "No  one,  however,  can  say  that,  amid 
the  material  progress  which  has  been  made,  any  perceptible 
change  in  the  feelings  or  condition  of  the  great  bulk  of  the 
people  has  been  effected;  and  here,  unfortunately,  lies  the 
element  of  instability  in  the  new  order  of  things.  A  little 
more  Manchester  calico  is  worn  by  the  Arab  population,  a 
few  more  of  the  upper  class  of  Arabs  wear  black  cloth  and 
French  kid  boots,  and  there  is  less  repugnance  among  the 
pashas  to  champagne  or  claret ;  but  in  the  essential  features 
and  characteristic  habits  of  the  people  there  is  no  real 
change  or  improvement  whatever.  .  .  .  Such  a  thorough 
change  in  the  external  features  of  any  nation  in  so  short  a 
time  has  probably  never  been  witnessed.  But  it  is  much 
more  remarkable,  it  is  almost  pathetic,  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  the  great  mass  of  the  people  are  utterly  rude 
and  unlettered,  and  only  very  slightly  removed  from  bar- 
barism. It  is  here,  indeed,  that  the  unstable  foundation 
upon  which  the  Khedive  has  built  his  splendid  superstructure 
discovers  its  weakness."  *  Every  friend  of  humanity  would 
rejoice  had  the  degradation  of  Egypt  reached  its  limit,  and 
had  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day  risen  upon  it.  But  nothing 
that  has  yet  occurred  proves  this.  The  advance  is  not 
the  offspring  of  awakening  life  and  prosperity  among  the 
people;  it  is  the  creature  of  the  late  Khedive's  aspirations, 
and  strenuous  but  individual  efforts.  The  improvement 
has  not  penetrated  to  the  people,  and  as  yet  the  only 
result  for  them  has  been  the  increased  pressure  of  their 
burdens. 

This  second  point,  then,  in  the  prophetic  picture  of 
Egypt  has  been  strikingly  fulfilled.  There  has  been  "no 
healing"  for  Egypt.  "The  pride  of  her  power"  has 
"come  down."  She  has  been  diminished  and  has  no 
more  ruled  over  the  nations.  We  now  turn  to  a  third 
feature.  Though  there  is  to  be  decline,  the  Scripture 
*  -James  Shaw. 


ITS    PRESERVATION.  33 

assures  us  there  will  be 

NO    EXTINCTION 

either  of  the  people  or  of  the  kingdom.  "  They,"  we  read, 
"shall  be  there  (that  is,  in  their  own  land)  a  base 
kingdom"  (Ezek.  xxix.  14).  Had  this  deepening  decay 
been  foreseen  by  the  wise,  had  it  been  accepted  as  certain 
that  Egypt  should  pass  down  step  by  step  from  prosperity 
and  greatness,  the  prediction  would  have  inevitably  been 
ventured  that  in  some  point  of  that  career  of  degradation 
her  existence  as  a  nation,  or  at  least  as  a  separate  do- 
minion, should  cease.  This  must  have  seemed  the  surest 
of  all  possible  deductions.  The  national  extinction  of  the 
Egyptians  is  an  event  which  in  itself  would  have  occa- 
sioned little  surprise.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  to  be 
expected  that  Egypt  should  have  shared  the  general  fate 
of  Eastern  greatness.  The  nations,  the  waves  on  this 
great  unresting  sea  of  human  life,  have  their  rise  and  fall. 
They  come  towering  on  in  swelling  strength  and  pride 
toward  that  strong  barrier  which  a  Divine  hand  has  set, 
but  they  are  only  hurrying  on  to  the  moment  when, 
brought  utterly  low  and  broken,  they  will  be  lost  in  the 
great  ocean  whence  they  sprang.  A  people  cannot  con- 
tinue at  the  summit  of  power  for  ever.  And  when  their 
supremacy  is  overthrown,  they  are  gradually  merged  in  the 
conquering  race,  and  lost  among  them ;  and  their  territory, 
becoming  a  province  of  a  wider  empire,  loses,  so  far  as 
nature  will  permit,  its  special  character,  and  its  old  tradi- 
tional boundaries. 

It  seemed  highly  improbable,  therefore,  altogether  apart 
from  the  prediction  regarding  its  decline,  that  the  national 
existence  of  Egypt  should  continue.  But,  with  the  full 
assurance  that  this  prediction  should  be  fulfilled,  its  con- 
tinuance must  have  seemed,  to  human  reason,  an  utter 
impossibility.  And  yet  to  this  paradox  the  Scripture  from 
of   old  pledged  itself.      Egypt   should   be  brought   low :    it 

c 


34 


EGYPT. 


should  be  set  among  the  basest ;  and  nevertheless  it  should 
be  preserved.  "It  shall  be  there  a  base  kingdom."  And,  as 
the  Scripture  has  said,  so  has  it  been.  Down  through  every 
age,  even  to  our  own  times,  the  name  of  Egypt  has  lived 
on  men's  lips.  The  "kingdom"  still  exists,  possessing  its 
distinctive  character  and  its  ancient  boundaries.  Its  ruler 
bears  the  title  to-day  of  "  Khediv-el-Misr,"  King  of  Egypt, 
while  by  the  Egyptians  he  is  spoken  of  as  the  Effendina, 
"the  Great  Lord."  Its  people  have  continued,  though  for 
two  thousand  years  they  have  ceased  to  be  lords  of  the 
soil.  Fierce  persecutions  and  ceaseless,  grinding  oppression 
have  neither  driven  them  from  their  fatherland,  nor  ex- 
tinguished them  as  a  separate  race  among  their  masters. 
The  fellahin  (the  cultivators  of  the  soil)  form  more  than 
four-fifths  of  the  entire  population  of  Egypt ;  and  accord- 
ing to  the  estimate  of  a  recent  writer,*  two-thirds  of  these 
may  be  set  down  as  descendants  of  the  ancient  Egyptians 
who  embraced  Mohammedanism  at  the  time  of  the  Arab 
conquest,  or  who  have  since  apostatized.  In  addition  to 
these  there  are  the  Copts,  who,  along  with  their  Chris- 
tianity, retain  the  proud  conviction  that  they  are  the  lineal 
descendants  of  Egypt's  ancient  masters.  Their  number  is 
variously  stated,  Lane  giving  it  as  150,000,  and  M'Coan  as 
500,000.  The  estimates  of  both  writers  agree,  however,  in 
representing  them  as  about  one-twelfth  of  the  whole 
population. 

People  and  kingdom,  therefore,  alike  continue.  Through 
all  her  many  changes  Egypt  has  preserved  her  identity. 
Downtrodden  and  oppressed,  she  has  never  ceased  to  hold 
some  place  in  the  commonwealth  of  nations,  small  though, 
in  these  latter  days,  that  place  has  been.  If  to  have  fore- 
seen the  long  and  steady  decay,  of  which  the  records  of 
Egypt  are  the  prolonged  story,  was  marvellous,  to  fore- 
tell, in  the  face  of  this,  its  preservation  was  still  more 
astounding. 

*  M'Coan,  "  Egypt  as  It  Is,"  p.  23. 


ITS    HUMILIATION.  35 

Let  us   now  examine  two  other   parts   of   the   prophetic 
forecast.      The  greatest  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  then  future 

DEGRADATION     OF     EGYPT: 

"  They  shall  be  there  a  base  kingdom.  It  shall  be  the  basest 
of  kingdoms ;  neither  shall  it  exalt  itself  any  more  above  the 
nations;  for  I  will  diminish  them  that  they  shall  no  more 
rule  over  the  nations."  Confronted  as  men  then  were,  and 
were  still  to  be  for  long  ages  after  the  Christian  era  had 
begun,  by  the  fame,  and  the  wisdom,  and  the  strength  of 
Egypt,  this  must  have  been  one  of  the  most  astounding 
features  in  the  whole  of   the  prophetic  vision. 

It  is  striking  to  mark  how  this  astonishment  is  re-echoed 
by  the  on-lookers  of  modern  times.  "It  is  melancholy," 
says  Lane,  "  to  compare  the  present  state  of  Egypt  with  its 
ancient  prosperity,  when  the  variety,  elegance,  and  ex- 
quisite finish  displayed  in  its  manufactures  attracted  the 
admiration  of  surrounding  nations,  and  its  inhabitants  were 
in  no  need  of  foreign  commerce  to  increase  their  wealth 
or  to  add  to  their  comforts.  Antiquarian  researches  show 
us  that  not  only  the  Pharaohs  and  the  priests  and 
military  chiefs,  but  also  a  great  proportion  of  the  agricul- 
turists, even  in  the  age  of  Moses  and  at  a  yet  earlier 
period,  passed  a  life  of  the  most  refined  luxury,  were 
clad  in  linen  of  the  most  delicate  fabric,  and  reclined  on 
couches  and  chairs  which  have  served  as  models  for  the 
furniture  of  our  modern  saloons.  Nature  is  as  lavish  as 
she  was  of  old  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley  of  the  Nile ; 
but  for  many  centuries  they  have  ceased  to  enjoy  the  bene- 
fit of  a  steady  government.  Each  of  their  successive  rulers 
during  this  long  lapse  of  time,  considering  the  uncertain 
tenure  of  his  power,  has  been  almost  wholly  intent  upon 
increasing  his  own  wealth ;  and  thus  a  large  portion  of  the 
nation  has  gradually  perished,  and  the  remnant,  in  general, 
has  been  reduced  to  a  state  of  the  most  afflicting  poverty."* 
*  Modem  Egyptians,  Vol.  II. ,  p.  1. 


36  EGYPT. 

The  splendour  and  luxury  of  ancient  Egypt  were  proverbial, 
and  the  monuments  prove  that  refinement  and  luxury 
extended,  as  Lane  has  said,  even  to  the  cultivators.  But 
where  the  children  of  Mizraim  were  once  clothed  in  fine  linen, 
and  fared  sumptuously  every  day,  they  now  know  nakedness. 
and  want.  The  fathers  called  forth  the  world's  admiration, 
and  the  children  now  awaken,  in  almost  as  great  a  degree, 
its  pity  and  contempt.  Every  thing  that  made  Egypt 
what  it  was  has  perished.  Its  once  endless  wealth  has 
long  ago  disappeared.  Its  arm  of  power  is  withered.  Its 
industries,  which  were  its  glory,  have  become  a  shame  and 
a  reproach.  "When  Bonaparte's  savants  entered  Cairo  they 
found  its  handicrafts,  as  its  learning,  at  the  lowest  ebb  of 
decadence."  "With  a  few  exceptions,  these  are  still  as 
backward  as  they  were  a  hundred  years  ago."  Mehemet 
Ali  made  an  attempt  to  revive  them,  and  "costly  failure" 
was  the  only  result.  M'Coan  finds  a  main  cause  of  this  in 
"the  low  level  of  material  civilization  among  nine-tenths 
of  the  population."* 

There  is  as  little  promise  in  its  commerce  as  in  its 
manufactures.  Its  trade  received  a  fatal  blow  when  the 
discovery  was  made  of  an  ocean  passage  to  India  by  the 
Cape ;  and  it  has  sustained  another  stroke  in  that  great 
triumph  of  modern  engineering  which  has  given  to  Egypt 
nearly  the  whole  of  its  present  importance.  The  Suez 
Canal  "represents  a  distinct  and  more  or  less  permanent 
loss.  Not  only  has  it  cost  the  treasury  in  all  more  than 
£17,000,000  in  money  outlay,  but  it  has  diverted  from  the 
Egyptian  ports  and  railways  a  large  and  increasing  transit 
traffic  of  great  revenue  value."  f 

To  some  extent  the  fruitfulness  of  Egypt  remains,  it  is 
true;  but  a  fertile  soil  will  not  in  itself  make  a  people 
great,  and  from  this  people  all  the  elements  of  national 
greatness  seem  to  have  passed  away.  Folybius,  in  giving 
an  account  of  the  various  nationalities  represented  in 
*  Egypt  as  It  Is."  f  Ibid. 


ITS    HUMILIATION.  37 

Alexandria,  speaks  of  the  Egyptians  as  a  keen  and  civilized 
race.  To  measure  the  depth  to  which  they  have  fallen  we 
have  only  to  set  against  this  the  words  of  Niebuhr :  "If 
an  ancient  origin  and  illustrious  ancestors  could  confer  merit, 
the  Copts  would  be  a  highly  estimable  people.  They  are 
descended  from  the  ancient  Egyptians;  and  the  Turks  on 
this  account,  call  them  in  derision  '  the  posterity  of  Pharaoh.' 
But  their  uncouth  figure,  ignorance,  and  wretchedness  do 
little  credit  to  the  sovereigns  of  ancient  Egypt."  The  hope- 
less bondage  of  centuries  has  quenched  every  spark  of 
ambition  in  the  breasts  of  the  descendants  of  the  Pharaohs ; 
and,  under  the  iron  heel  of  oppression,  genius  and  talent, 
and  even  intellect  itself,  seem  to  have  been  extinguished. 
The  race,  still  physically  sound,  is  mentally  effete.  The 
Egyptians  are  now,  what  for  long  ages  they  were  held  to  be, 
a  race  of  slaves. 

And  it  is  not  on  the  people  only  that  this  doom  has 
pressed.  The  fulfilment  of  the  decree,  "They  shall  be 
there  a  base  kingdom,"  can  be  read  beneath  the  glitter  of 
the  throne  itself.  The  schemes  and  improvements  of  the 
late  viceroy  have  resulted,  as  is  well-known,  in  hopeless 
bankruptcy.  Sir  George  Campbell  says :  "  The  debt  in- 
curred by  usurious  interest  had  well-nigh  swamped  the 
state.  It  continually  increased,  and  finally  the  Khedive 
placed  himself  in  distinguished  European  hands.  He  put 
his  income  in  trust,  as  it  were,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
creditors,  and  it  has  been  so  administered  under  European 
control  for  the  last  year.  Let  us  see  the  result.  .  ,  , 
The  Khedive  was  to  be  put  on  an  allowance,  as  he  ex- 
pressed it  at  the  time;  £4,500,000  being  allowed  for  the 
expenses  of  the  administration,  and  the  rest  applied  for 
the  benefit  of  the  creditors.  ...  By  dint  of  whipping 
and  spurring  and  getting  all  that  it  was  possible  to  get  by 
any  means,  the  engagements  to  the  creditors  for  the  first 
two  half-years — that  is,  those  due  in  the  beginning  and 
middle  of  1877 — have  been  satisfied;  but  that  part  of  the 


38 


EGYPT. 


engagement  which  affected  the  Egyptian  administration 
and  people  has  not  been  carried  out.  The  allowances 
stipulated  to  carry  on  the  government  have  not  been  paid ; 
and,  from  the  Khedive  downwards,  all  the  officials  have 
been  kept  out  of  tJieir  salaries,  till  the  thing  has  become 
past  endurance."  Has  Egypt  ever  presented  a  more  humili- 
ating spectacle? 

But  more  remains  behind.  Few  things  show  the  weak- 
ness of  the  government  more  than  the  existence  of  the 
mixed  courts  forced  upon  the  viceroy,  and  which  exercise 
uncontrolled  authority  over  the  whole  country  in  every 
case  in  which  a  foreigner  is  concerned.  "The  Khedive 
and  all  his  government  officers  and  belongings  have  been 
made  subject  to  the  new  courts,  and  a  very  large  pro- 
portion of  their  larger  business — in  fact,  it  seemed  to  me 
the  main  staple  of  it — is  hearing  cases  and  passing  decrees 
against  the  Khedive.  ...  I  hardly  see  how  a  govern- 
ment of  this  kind  can  be  carried  on  in  such  subjection  to 
courts  in  which  the  foreign  element  is  wholly  and  abso- 
lutely dominant,  which  have  claimed  to  decide  on  the 
illegality  of  the  formal  decrees  of  the  ruling  power,  and 
which  are  under  no  control  whatever."*  "The  English 
Consul,"  says  Miss  Amelia  B.  Edwards,  "came  to  breakfast 
with  us  by  invitation.  He  told  us  of  some  of  the  incon- 
veniences of  the  international  muddle  which  is  made  up 
of  consular  tribunals,  international  tribunals,  capitulations, 
et  hoc  genus  omne,  and  which  has  gone  far  to  render 
government  almost  impossible  in  Egypt.  The  laws  of 
naturalization  there  are  such  that  Turkish  subjects,  and 
even  native  Egyptians,  can  now  obtain  the  privileges  of 
foreigners,  and  evade  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Egyptian 
Government ;  and  Italians,  Greeks,  and  Levantines  may 
outrage  the  criminal  and  civil  laws  of  the  country  they  are 
residing  in  almost  with  impunity."  f 

*  "An  Inside  View  of  Egypt.'' 
t  "A  Thousand  Miles  Up  the  Nile,"  64,  65. 


TO     BE     GOVERNED     BY    FOREIGNERS.  39 

With  all  the  enterprise  and  eclat  of  the  reign  of  Ismail 
Pasha,  the  degradation  of  Egypt  was  perhaps  never  so  evi- 
dent before.  "While  we  hear  much  of  the  higher  titles, 
higher  prerogatives,  and  more  independent  position  of  the 
Khedive  of  these  days,  it  is  curious  to  look  back  a  little  into 
history  and  see  how  far  there  has  been  a  practical  decadence. 
Ever  since  independent  Mohammedan  Egypt  submitted  to 
the  Turks,  it  has  never  been  so  dependent  as  it  is  now.  Till 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century  it  was  a  suzerainty, 
and  nothing  more,  that  it  acknowledged.  Then  came 
Mehemet  Ali,  not  really  appointed  by  the  Porte,  but  rising 
to  power  by  his  own  energy.  It  need  not  be  recited  how, 
during  his  long  reign,  he  and  his  son  Ibrahim  set  the  Porte 
at  defiance,  and  foreign  powers  as  well.  Now  all  that  has 
changed.  The  ruler  of  Egypt  has  been  obliged  to  surrender 
his  fleet,  and  in  all  things  to  submit  to  the  corruption  of 
the  Constantinople  offices.  He  feels  himself  so  weak  in 
the  presence  of  foreign  powers,  and  foreign  financial  corpo- 
rations, that  he  yields  many  things  that  he  knows  he  ought 
not  to  yield,  all  to  the  detriment  of  his  country."*  The 
events  which  have  transpired  since  these  words  were  written, 
have  only  more  fully  revealed  the  misery  of  Egypt.  She  is 
still  preserved,  but  she  is  there  "  a  base  kingdom ; "  she  is 
"the  basest  of  the  kingdoms."  As  Egypt  mingles  in  the 
politics  of  the  present  time,  the  question  is  not,  What  will 
she  do?  but,  What  will  be  done  with  her?  In  the  face  of 
these  things  need  we  ask  whose  word  this  is  which  said  from 
of  old, — "They  shall  be  there  a  base  kingdom.     .     .     . 

FOR    I    WILL    DIMINISH    THEM?" 

The  last  point  in  the  prediction  to  which  we  now  draw 

attention    is   that,    though    the    kingdom   was    to    continue, 

there  should  be 

NO     NATIVE     PRINCE 

of  Egypt.      "There  shall   be  no  more  a  prince  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt"  (Ezek.  xxx.  13).     On  this  a  few  words  will 

*  ibid. 


40  EGYPT. 

suffice.  The  prophecy  has  been  completely  and  literally 
fulfilled.  It  is  evident  that  the  words  did  not  mean  that 
Egypt  should  be  without  a  government.  The  "kingdom" 
was  to  continue.  She  was  to  have  possessors  and  masters, 
but  these  were  not  to  arise  from  among  her  own  children. 
There  was  to  be  no  longer  a  native  ruler ;  but  the  land, 
with  all  that  was  its  glory  and  its  strength,  was  to  be  made 
waste  under  the  disastrous  dominion  of  those  who  were 
bound  to  the  people  by  no  ties  of  kindred  or  of  country. 
In  525  B.C.  Egypt  was  conquered  by  the  Persians  under 
Cambyses,  and  its  king,  Psammetik  III.,  was  made  prisoner. 
The  country  became  a  province  of  the  Persian  empire ; 
but,  unlike  their  degenerate  offspring,  the  Egyptians  of 
that  period  did  not  tamely  bow  under  the  foreign  yoke. 
For  the  next  one  hundred  and  seventy  years  their  history 
is  simply  a  tale  of  rebellions,  more  or  less  temporarily 
successful,  until  they  were  finally  subdued  by  Ochus  in 
350  B.C.  From  that  time  to  the  present  no  native  prince 
has  ruled  the  land.  Again  and  again  has  Egypt  changed 
masters,  but  among  them  all  no  son  of  hers  is  numbered. 
Groaning  under  terrible  oppression,  she  has  looked  for 
deliverance  from  without,  but  never  from  her  own  children. 
There  has  been  "no  more  a  prince  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt." 

Put  together  these  five  things  :  the  picture  of  the  final  con- 
dition of  Thebes,  Egypt's  ancient  capital ;  that  the  greatness 
of  Egppt  should  not  return,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  it 
should  sink  into  deepening  decay;  that,  notwithstanding 
decay,  it  should  still  have  its  sovereign  and  continue  a 
kingdom ;  but  that  it  should  exist  in  deep  humiliation  and 
be  the  basest  of  the  kingdoms ;  and  that,  though  the  throne 
should  continue,  it  should  never  be  filled  by  one  of  Egypt's 
own  sons.  Place  these  predictions  in  the  light  of  Egypt's 
present  condition  and  past  history,  and  what  do  they  tell 
us  1  Surely  'not  only  that  this  is  God's  book.  That  they 
do  say ;  for  these  words  were  never  man's,  but  "  Holy  men 


THE     END     OF     THE     MATTER.  41 

of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 
They  tell  also  that  God  is  Judge,  that  He  will  rebuke 
pride,  and  punish  sin.  The  Lord  ruleth,  and  forgets  neither 
His  threatening  nor  His  promise. 


CHAPTER  V. 


EGYPT.— (Continued.) 


AGAIN  ASK  attention  to  this  land  of  fame  and 
mystery,  and  it  may  be  well  to  say  in  one  word 
why  I  do  so.  In  order  to  leave  no  room  for  the 
suspicion  of  the  predictions  having  been  written  after  the 
event,  we  have  agreed  not  to  press  for  a  verdict  from  any 
fulfilment  which  took  place  before  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  era.  But,  if  we  are  to  succeed  in  banishing 
suspicion,  we  must  do  something  more.  I  can  understand 
someone  saying — not  from  any  desire  to  oppose,  but  from 
a  hesitancy  which  is  in  the  circumstances  perfectly  natural 
— "Yes,  the  fulfilment  you  speak  of  is  indeed  marvellous. 
But  quite  as  marvellous  things  have  sometimes  been 
brought  about  by  chance,  and  it  is  perhaps  no  more  than 
we  might  expect  that,  out  of  so  many  hundreds  of  pre- 
dictions, some  should  come  true."  But  the  Scriptures 
enable  us  to  meet  this  difficulty  as  easily  as  the  other. 
They  contain  what  I  may  call  prophetic  pictures.  They 
do  not  merely  indicate  one  feature  among  the  many  after- 
characteristics  of  peoples  and  of  countries :  they  describe 
one  feature  after  another  till  their  condition  is  fully  por- 
trayed. With  the  fulfilment  of  one,  or  perhaps  two,  of 
these  it  might  be  imagined  that  chance  had  had  to  do,  but, 
as  one  after  another  is  added,  the  suspicion  becomes  more 


THE    FATE    OF    MEMPHIS.  43 

and  more  unreasonable,  till,  before  the  accumulating  evidence, 
it  is  swept  away  completely  and  for  ever. 

Such  a  picture  we  have  in  the  prophecies  concerning 
Egypt.     We  have  already  marked  the  fulfilment  of 

FIVE    PREDICTIONS. 

Let  me  now  ask  the  reader  to  look  with  me  at  the 
fulfilment  of 

ELEVEN    OTHERS. 

We  began  the  previous  chapter  with  a  prediction  con- 
cerning Thebes,  the  most  ancient  capital  city  of  Egypt. 
Another  famous  city,  which,  as  capital,  took  in  time  the 
place  of  Thebes,  is  mentioned  in  Ezekiel  xxx.  13:  "Thus 
saith  the  Lord  God :  I  will  also  destroy  the  idols,  and  I 
will  cause  the  images  to  cease  from  Noph."  This  name 
preserves  the  designation  Pa-Nouf  by  which  the  Egyptians 
named  the  ancient  city  known  to  us  as 

MEMPHIS. 

It  is  said  to  have  been  founded  by  Menes,  and  that  there 
the  first  regulations  were  made  for  the  worship  of  the  gods 
and  the  service  of  the  temples.  It  is  certain  that  it  was 
regarded  with  the  deepest  veneration.  The  monuments 
enumerate  its  gods  and  its  temples,  and  Brugsch  Bey 
speaks  of  it  in  his  book,  "Egypt  under  the  Pharaohs," 
as   "the  great  temple-city  of    Egypt." 

It  was  not  unfitting,  therefore,  that  He  who  was  to  judge 
Egypt  for  its  idolatry,  as  well  as  for  its  sin,  should  say  of 
Memphis  that  He  would  destroy  its  idols  and  cause  the 
images  to  cease  from  it.  But,  though  it  might  prove  a 
fitting  judgment,  it  was  a  most  unlikely  fate.  The  idols 
have  not  been  destroyed  elsewhere  nor  have  the  images 
ceased.  Both  are  found  to-day  in  Thebes,  which  was  in 
ruins  when  Memphis  still  retained  its  splendour.  They  are 
found   elsewhere,  and,  from  what  we  know  of  the  general 


44  EGYPT. 

condition  of  Egypt,  we  should  say  it  was  highly  probable 
they  would  be  found  there  also. 

To  those  who  looked  upon  Memphis  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Christian  era  this  fate  must  have  seemed  more 
improbable  still.  Strabo  found  the  city  "large  and  popu- 
lous, next  to  Alexandria  in  size,"  and  speaks  of  its  gods 
and  temples  and  statues.  In  the  beginning  of  the  seventh 
century  it  was  the  residence  of  the  Governor  of  Egypt,  who 
made  terms  there  with  the  Arab  invaders.  The  city  of 
Cairo  having  been  founded  in  the  neighbourhood,  the  popu- 
lation drifted  away  from  the  old  city,  and  its  materials  were 
taken  to  build  and  extend  the  new.  The  vast  mass  of 
Memphis,  however,  seemed  to  defy  all  attempts  at  destruc- 
tion. Abd-ul-Latif,  an  Arab  traveller,  who  visited  it  in  the 
13th  century,  says:  "its  ruins  still  offer  to  the  eyes  of  the 
spectator  a  collection  of  wonderful  works  which  confound 
the  intellect,  and  to  describe  which  the  most  eloquent 
man  would  labour  in  vain.  The  longer  we  look  upon  the 
scene,  the  higher  rises  the  admiration  it  inspires;  and 
every  new  glance  that  we  cast  upon  the  ruins  reveals  a 
new  charm.  Scarcely  have  they  awakened  a  distinct  idea 
in  the  soul  of  the  spectator,  than  a  still  more  admirable 
idea  suggests  itself;  and  just  as  you  believe  you  have 
gained  complete  knowledge  of  them,  at  that  very  moment 
the  conviction  forces  itself  on  the  mind,  that  what  you 
think  you  know  is  still  very  far  from  the  truth." 

And  now  what  of  to-day  ?  So  completely  has  the  doom 
been  accomplished  that  a  century  ago  the  very  site  of 
Memphis  was  a  matter  of  dispute.  Later  investigations 
have  settled  that  question,  but  they  have  also  verified  the 
truth  of  the  prediction.  With  the  exception  of  one  colossal 
statue  (the  property  of  the  English  nation,  but  which  has 
never  been  removed,  and  which  Wilkinson  says,  will  some 
day  be  burned  by  the  Arabs  for  lime),  and  a  small 
figure  of  red  granite,  both  of  extraordinary  beauty,  but 
broken     and     laid     on     the     ground — with     the     exception 


THE    DESTRUCTION    OF    MEMPHIS.  45 

of  these,  the  idols  and  the  images  and  the  temples — the 
city  and  all  it  contained  have  passed  away.  Wilkinson 
writes  :  "  there  is  very  little  else  worthy  of  remark  amidst 
the  mounds  of  Memphis."  "We  are  surprised  to  find  so 
few  remains  of  this  vast  city."  Brugsch  Bey  says :  "All 
that  remains  of  this  celebrated  city  at  the  present  time 
consists  of  heaps  of  fragments  of  columns  and  altars,  and 
carvings  which  once  belonged  to  the  temples  of  Memphis 
— a  far-stretching  mass  of  mounds,  out  of  which  shine 
in  the  clear  sunlight  the  remains  of  the  half-destroyed 
chambers  and  halls  of  ancient  houses.  Those  travellers 
who  visit  the  remains  of  Memphis  in  the  hope  of  recog- 
nising some  vestiges  worthy  of  its  fame,  will  be  little 
satisfied  with  the  sad  prospect  which  meets  the  eye." 
Miss  Amelia  B.  Edwards  thus  describes  a  visit  to  Memphis  : 
"We  are  all  gathered  round  the  brink  of  a  muddy  pool 
in  the  midst  of  which  lies  a  shapeless  block  of  blackened 
and    corroded    limestone.      This,    it    seems,    is    the    famous 

prostrate   colossus   of    Barneses   the    Great So 

here  it  lies,  face  downwards  and  drowned  once  a  year 
by  the  Nile ;  visible  only  when  the  pools  left  by  the  in- 
undation have  evaporated  and  all  the  muddy  hollows  are 
dried  up 

"  Where,  however,  is  the  companion  colussus  1  Where  is 
the  Temple  itself  1  Where  are  the  pylons  of  the  obelisks, 
of  the  avenues  of  sphinxes  1    Where,  in  short,  is  Memphis  ? 

"  The  dragoman  shrugs  his  shoulders  and  points  to  the 
barren  mounds  among  the  palms.  .  .  .  And  is  this  all  1 
No — not  quite  all.  There  are  some  mud  huts  yonder,  in 
among  the  trees ;  and  in  front  of  one  of  these  we  find  a 
number  of  sculptured  fragments — battered  sphinxes,  torsos 
without  legs,  sitting  figures  without  heads — in  green,  black, 
and  red  granite.  Banged  in  an  irregular  semicircle  on  the 
sward,  they  seem  to  sit  in  forlorn  conclave,  half  solemn, 
half  ludicrous,  with  the  goats  browsing  round,  and  the 
little  Arab  children  hiding  behind  them. 


46  EGYPT. 

"Near  this,  in  another  pool,  lies  another  colossus — not 
the  fellow  to  that  which  we  saw  first;  but  a  smaller  one — 
also  face  downwards,  of  red  granite. 

"  And  this  is  all  that  remains  of  Memphis,  eldest 
of  cities : — a  few  large  rubbish-heaps,  a  dozen  or  so  of 
broken  statues,  and  a  name  !  .  .  .  Where  are  those 
stately  ruins  that  even  in  the  middle  ages  extended  over  a 
space  estimated  at  '  half  a  day's  journey  in  every  direction  V 
One  can  hardly  believe  that  a  great  city  ever  flourished  on 
this  spot,  or  understand  how  it  should  have  been  effaced 
so  utterly."* 

We  turn  once  more  to  the  general  aspect  and  fortunes 
of  the  entire  country.  The  hand  of  decay  was  also  to 
be   placed   upon 

THE    RIVERS    AND    THE    CANALS. 

We  read :  "I  will  make  the  rivers  dry"  (Ezek.  xxx.  12) ;  and 
again,  "  The  waters  shall  fail  from  the  sea  and  the  river  shall 
be  wasted  and  become  dry.  And  the  rivers  shall  stink :  the 
streams  (or  canals)  of  Egypt  shall  be  minished  and  dried  up  " 
(Isaiah  xix.  5,  6).  By  "the  sea"  is  in  all  probability  meant 
the  Nile.  It  was  named  oceanus  by  Homer,  and  has  been 
called  the  sea,  or  the  sea  of  the  Nile,  by  both  ancient  and 
modern  Egyptians.  "  The  rivers  "  which  were  to  "  become 
dry"  and  to  "stink"  were  the  arms  of  the  Nile  which, 
passing  through  the '  plain  of  the  Delta,  poured  the  waters 
of  this  gigantic  stream  into  the  Mediterranean.  Part  of 
this  prediction  is  as  yet  unfulfilled.  The  waters  have  not 
as  yet  failed  from  the  sea,  but  nevertheless  we  trace  even 
here  fulfilments  as  wonderful  as  those  which  startle  us  in 
other  parts  of  the  prophetic  description.  The  hand  of  decay 
has  made  a  deepening  impress  on  the  rivers  and  the  canals 
of  Egypt.  In  his  article  on  the  Nile  in  Smith's  Bible 
Dictionary,  Mr.  Reginald  Stuart  Poole  says :  "  The  great 
difference  between  the  Nile  of  Egypt  in  the  present  day 
*  "  A  Thousand  Miles  Up  the  Nile,"  97-99. 


THE    RIVERS     AND     CANALS.  47 

and  in  ancient  times  is  caused  by  the  failure  of  some  of  its 
branches.  .  .  .  The  river  was  famous  for  its  seven 
branches,  and  under  the  Roman  dominion  eleven  were 
counted,  of  which,  however,  there  were  but  seven  principal 
ones.  Herodotus  notices  that  there  were  seven,  of  which 
he  says  that  two,  the  present  Damietta  and  Rosetta  branches, 
were  originally  artificial,  and  he  therefore  speaks  of  '  the  five 
mouths.'  Now,  as  for  a  long  period  past,  there  are  no 
navigable  and  unobstructed  branches  but  these  two  that  Hero- 
dotus distinguishes  as  the  work  of  man."  Even  these  are 
accessible  only  to  small  vessels.  "The  five  other  ancient 
mouths  of  the  river  have  long  ago  silted  up,  and  their 
course  can  now  be  hardly  traced  over  the  great  alluvial 
plain  and  through  the  network  of  canals  and  lakes  which 
interpose  between  the  sea  and  this  point."  * 

The  rivers  then  have  been  made  dry,  and  instead  of 
flowing  in  their  ancient  course  have  become  stinking  pools 
and  marshes.  What  had  formerly  ministered  to  health  and 
pleasure  was  changed  into  a  danger  and  an  offence.  For 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  what  is  shown  here  in  the  vivid 
picture  of  prophecy  was  a  condition  through  which  they 
actually  passed.  Referring  to  one  of  the  canals  of  Cairo, 
Wilkinson  says  that  to  close  it,  and  turn  its  bed  into  a 
street  would  have  the  "advantage  of  freeing  the  houses  on 
its  banks  from  the  noxious  vapours  that  rise  when  the  water 
has  retired  and  left  a  bed  of  liquid  mud."  What  now  of 
the  canals'?  Amrou,  the  Mahommedan  conqueror  of  Egypt, 
wrote  to  the  caliph  that  it  was  necessary  that  one-third 
of  the  entire  revenues  of  the  country  should  be  devoted  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  canals.  This  has  never  been  done, 
and  the  result  has  been  that  the  canals  also  have  been 
"  minished  and  dried  up."  The  predecessors  of  the  present 
dynasty  seem  to  have  specially  sinned  in  this  respect. 
"The  Mameluke  Beys,"  says  Malte  Brun,  "applied  to 
their  own  private  use  the  funds  destined  to  the  support  of 
*  "Egypt  as  It  Is,"  5. 


48  EGYPT. 

these  public  works,  on  which  the  fertility  of  Egypt  depends. 
Many  canals  were  even  abandoned  by  these  barbarians, 
who  thus  destroyed  the  sources  of  their  own  revenues." 
Mehemet  Ali  and  Ismail  Pasha  have  undoubtedly  tried  to 
atone  for  the  neglect  of  the  past.  The  resources  of  the 
country  and  the  lives  of  her  children  have  been  lavished 
in  the  attempt  to  undo  the  mischief  which  has  resulted 
from  former  negligence.  But  their  efforts  have  been  only 
partially  successful.  The  Menoufieh  Canal,  for  example, 
used  formerly  to  communicate  with  the  Rosetta  branch 
of  the  Nile,  but  is  now  dammed  up.  Mr.  Villiers  Stuart, 
who  was  deputed  to  examine  and  report  upon  the  state  of 
Egypt  in  1882  says:  "One  complaint  often  made  to  me  on 
the  subject  of  irrigation  in  the  Delta,  is  that  the  canals  run 
dry  at  the  critical  season  of  the  year,  and  when  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  the  cotton  crop  are  most  seriously  affected 
by  any  deficiency  in  the  water  supply."* 

Of  the  Said,  or  Upper  Egypt,  he  writes :  If  "  there  were 
a  canal  system  as  perfect  as  in  the  Delta,  it  would  far 
exceed  it  in  richness  of  vegetation  and  in  wealth-producing 
power."  f  As  it  is  at  present  it  depends  for  its  one  crop  on 
the  annual  overflow  of  the  Nile.  Were  a  system  of  canal- 
irrigation  introduced  "it  could  grow  three  crops  where  it 
now  grows  but  one."  But  is  this  a  modern  discovery1? 
Did  the  wise  Egyptians  live  for  centuries  in  the  country 
without  suspecting  that  there  was  so  easy  a  method  of  mul- 
tiplying its  fertility  1  No,  this  part  of  the  country  now  con- 
demned to  comparative  barrenness  and  poverty  for  the  lack 
of  irrigation,  was  once  covered  with  canals.  The  following 
extracts  explain  how  the  change  has  come  about :  "  Canals 
exist,  but  many  have  been  allowed  to  silt  up.  They  all  want 
deepening,  and  they  ought  to  be  connected  together  on  a 
scientific  system."  %  "  The  shallowness  of  the  canals  is 
partly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  late  Khedive  diverted  to 
his  sugar  estates  and  to  other  purposes  the  forced  labour 
*  "Egypt  After  the  War,"  51.      t  ibid.  '241.      t  ibid.  241. 


ITS    RIVER    SCENERY.  49 

that  ought  to  have  been  applied  to  keep  them  clean-."* 
"  There  seems  no  doubt  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  kept 
the  canals  in  Upper  Egypt  full ;  this  accounts  for  the  much 
larger  population  in  the  time  of  the  Pharaohs."  f  "We 
could  irrigate  our  land  much  better,"  the  peasants  said  to 
him,  "and  more  of  it,  if  the  canals  had  water  in  them,  but 
they  are  dry;  if  they  were  deepened,  there  would  be  water 
in  them  always."  I  The  canals,  as  the  Scripture  predicted, 
have  been  minished  and  dried  up. 
Another  feature  in 

THE  RIVER  SCENERY 

of  Egypt  as  presented  in  the  prophetic  picture  indicated  a 
further  remarkable  change.  Mr.  Reginald  Stuart  Poole, 
of  the  British  Museum,  writes  :  "  The  monuments  and  the 
narratives  of  ancient  writers  show  us  in  the  Nile  of  Egypt 
in  old  times,  a  stream  bordered  by  flags  and  reeds,  the 
covert  of  abundant  wild-fowl,  and  bearing  on  its  waters 
the  fragrant  flowers  of  the  various-coloured  lotus.  Now 
in  Egypt  scarcely  any  reeds  or  water-plants — the  famous 
papyrus  being  nearly  if  not  quite  extinct,  and  the  lotus 
almost  unknown — are  to  be  seen  except  in  the  marshes 
near  the  Mediterranean.  This  also  was  prophesied  by 
Isaiah :  '  The  papyrus-reeds  in  the  river  and  everything 
growing  (lit  'sown')  in  the  river  shall  be  dried  up,  driven 
away  (by  the  wind)  and  (shall)  not  be '  (xix.  7).  When  it 
is  recollected  that  the  water-plants  of  Egypt  were  so 
abundant  as  to  be  a  great  source  of  revenue  in  the 
prophet's  time  and  much  later,  the  exact  fulfilment  of  his 
predictions  is  a  valuable  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  old 
opinion  as  to  '  the  sure  word  of  prophecy.' " 

This  was  indeed  no  small  part  of  the  burden  of  loss  and 

decay  which   was   to    lay    the  pride  of  Egypt  in  the  dust. 

An  inscription    speaks    of    an    Egyptian    Queen    as    having 

reigned  over  the  land  of  the  papyrus  and  the  lotus.     These 

*243.  t261.  £277. 

D 


50  EGYPT. 

plants  formed  so  striking  a  feature  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Egypt  respectively  that  they  became  the  symbols  of  the 
districts.  They  were  also  a  boon  to  the  people  and  a 
source  of  considerable  revenue  to  the  crown.  "The  lotus, 
the  papyrus,  and  other  similar  productions  of  the  land, 
during  and  after  the  inundation,  were,  for  the  poor,  one 
of  the  greatest  blessings  nature  ever  provided  for  any 
people."*  They  were  largely  used  as  food.  The  lotus 
flowers  were  in  constant  demand  for  the  bouquets  and 
garlands  with  which  the  Egyptian  host  presented  and 
adorned  his  guests.  The  seeds  were  pounded  and  made 
into  bread.  The  papyrus  was  put  to  many  uses.  "They 
employ  the  roots,"  Pliny  writes,  "as  firewood,  and  for 
making  various  utensils.  They  even  construct  small  boats 
of  the  plant ;  and  out  •  of  the  rind  sails,  mats,  clothes, 
bedding,  and  ropes."  But  that  which  made  it  famous,  and 
which  has  preserved  the  name  to  our  own  time,  was  the 
use  made  of  it  as  a  writing  material.  Pliny,  who  wrote  in 
the  latter  half  of  the  first  century  of  our  era,  describes  the 
appearance  and  the  growth  of  the  plant  and  the  various 
kinds  of  paper  which  were  formed  from  it.  We  know  that 
papyrus  was  in  use  till  the  seventh  century,  and  until  that 
time  the  plant  was  still  found  in  its  ancient  home.  But 
then  as  now  it  stood  written  :  "  The  reeds  and  the  flags 
shall  wither  away.  The  meadow  ("here  used,"  says 
Gesenius,  "of  the  grassy  places  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile") 
by  the  Nile,  by  the  brink  of  the  Nile,  and  all  that  is  sown 
by  the  Nile  shall  become  dry,  be  driven  away,  and  be  no 
more"  (Isaiah  xix.  G,  7).  And  to-day  all  is  fulfilled.  "The 
plant  is  now  unknown  in  Egypt."  f  The  pink  and  the  blue 
lotus,  which  appear  so  frequently  in  the  paintings,  have  also 
passed  away.  The  traveller  is  struck  by  the  absence  of 
verdure  on  the  Nile  banks.  "It  is  a  curious  fact  that  no 
water-plants  or  weeds  grow  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile;  a 
sedgy  margin  is  never  to  be  met  with  in  this  country."  J 
*  Wilkinson.  "Ancient  Egyptians,"  I.  168. 
+  ibid.  II.  97.  +  Irby  and  Mangles. 


EXTINCTION    OF    ITS    FISHERIES.  51 

A  similar  prediction  is  made  regarding 

THE    FISHERIES. 

"Herodotus  says  that  a  certain  number  of  the  poorer 
Egyptians  'lived  almost  entirely  on  fish.'  It  was  so 
abundant  that  it  was  necessarily  cheap.  The  Nile  pro- 
duced several  kinds  which  were  easily  caught ;  and  in  Lake 
Moeris  the  abundance  of  fish  was  such  that  the  Pharaohs 
are  said  to  have  derived  from  the  sale  a  revenue  of  above 
£94,000  a  year.  .  .  .  The  fishermen  of  Egypt  formed 
a  numerous  class,  and  the  salting  and  drying  of  fish 
furnished  occupation  to  a  large  number  of  persons."* 
Diodorous  refers  to  the  fisheries  of  Egypt  in  similar 
terms,  showing  that  the  industry  within  fifty  years  of  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era  had  suffered  no  diminution. 
Fish  constituted  even  then  a  large  portion  of  the  daily 
food  of  the  people,  and  dried  fish  formed  a  large  item  in 
Egyptian  exports.  But  it  stood  written  :  "  The  fishers  also 
shall  lament,  and  all  they  that  cast  angle  into  the  Nile 
shall  mourn,  and  they  that  spread  nets  upon  the  waters 
shall  languish"  (Isaiah  xix.  8).  And  this  too  has  been 
accomplished.  In  the  decline  of  Egypt  the  fish-pools  and 
their  conduits  were  neglected  and  ruined,  and  the  fishers 
lamented,  mourned,  and  languished.  "  Having  once  been 
very  productive,  and  a  main  source  of  revenue  as  well  as  of 
sustenance,  the  fisheries  are  now  scarcely  of  any  moment, 
excepting  about  Lake  Menzaleh,  and  in  some  few  places 
elsewhere,  chiefly  in  the  North  of  Egypt."  f 
But 

THE    REMAINING    INDUSTRIES 

of  Egypt  were  also  to  suffer.  The  prophet  continues : 
"Moreover  they  that  work  in  combed  flax,  and  they  that 
weave  white  cloth  shall  be  ashamed.  And  her  pillars  shall 
be  broken  in  pieces,  and  all  they  that  work  for  hire  shall  be 

*Rawlinson's    "Egypt  and  Babylon,"  318,  319. 
f  Reginald  Stuart  Poole. 


52  EGYPT. 

grieved  in  soul  .  .  .  Neither  shall  there  be  for  Egypt 
any  work  which  head  or  tail,  palm  branch  or  rush,  may  do  " 
(xix.  9,  10,  15).  "The  pillars"  are  the  support  of  the  social 
fabric,  the  rich  and  noble  by  whose  patronage  the  in- 
dustries of  the  country  were  encouraged.  "Head"  and 
"tail"  are  expressive  figures  of  those  who  lead  and  those 
who  follow,  as  are  the  lofty  palm-branch  and  the  humble 
rush  of  high  and  low,  the  aristocracy  and  the  masses  of 
the  people.  It  is  implied  that  these  are  bound  together 
in  a  fellowship  of  labour,  and  we  are  told  that  a  day  was 
to  come  when  their  occupation  should  be  gone,  and  the 
fellowship  should  cease. 

That  the  hand  is  laid  here  on  what  formed  a  special  feature 
of  Egyptian  life  we  shall  immediately  see.  But  to  under- 
stand how  heavy  this  doom  was,  and  the  improbability  of 
its  fulfilment,  we  have  to  recall  the  fact  that  the  greatness 
of  Egypt  lay  not  so  much  in  her  military  power,  as  in  her 
civilization.  Her  arts  and  her  industries  were  her  chief 
glories.  Before  showing  that  their  lustre  is  undimmed  by 
modern  achievements  I  may  say  that  they  were  well  and 
long  sustained  by  "the  pillars."  "Considerable  sums  were 
expended  in  furnishing  houses,  and  in  many  artificial 
caprices.  Rich  jewels  and  costly  works  of  art  were  in 
great  request,  as  well  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  pro- 
vincial capitals,  as  at  Thebes  and  Memphis :  they  delighted 
in  splendid  equipages,  elegant  and  commodious  boats, 
numerous  attendants,  horses,  dogs,  and  other  requisites 
for  the  chase ;  and  besides,  their  houses,  their  villas,  and 
their  gardens  were  laid  out  with  no  ordinary  expense."* 
"The  rich  frequently  had  ornamental  works,  statues,  and 
furniture  of  solid  gold."  f  Expense  was  lavished  upon  them 
even  to  the  tomb.  The  embalming  of  a  corpse  sometimes 
cost,  according  to  Diodorous,  <£250  sterling. 

That  the  Palm-branch  and  the  Bush,  the  higher  and 
the  lower  classes,  alike  shared  in  the  vast  and  continuous 
*  Wilkinson.     "  The  Ancient  Egyptians,"  II.,  218-219.    t  Ibid.  167, 


EXTINCTION   OF   ITS    INDUSTRIES.  53 

labours  which  were  characteristic  of  Egyptian  civilization 
has  been  abundantly  proved  by  the  monuments.  The 
priests,  who  were  bound  by  an  exacting  ritual,  held  the 
first  position  in  the  state ;  they  were  also  charged  with  the 
administration  of  the  law.  The  chief  architects  were 
princes,  and  were  permitted  to  intermarry  with  the  royal 
family.  The  military  force  consisted  of  410,000  men, 
exclusive  of  the  large  force  of  mercenaries,  and  the 
commands  were  held  by  the  nobility.  These  last  occupied 
posts  also  in  the  royal  household,  in  the  government  of 
the  country,  in  the  management  of  the  royal  estates,  and, 
notwithstanding  that  a  shepherd  was  an  abomination  to 
the  Egyptians,  even  the  office  of  superintendent  of  the 
herds  was  filled  by  men  of  rank. 

This  union  of  classes  is  an  indication  of  the  place  which 
art  and  industry  held  in  the  public  estimation.  Excellence 
was  their  constant  aim,  we  may  say  their  passion;  and  the 
utmost  care  was  taken  to  secure  the  highest  efficiency  in 
every  department.  "  No  tradesman,"  says  Diodorous,  "  was 
permitted  to  meddle  in  political  affairs,  or  to  hold  any  civil 
office  in  the  state,  lest  his  thoughts  should  be  distracted 
by  the  inconsistency  of  his  pursuits.  .  .  .  They  feared 
that  without  such  a  law  .  .  .  their  proper  occupations 
would  be  neglected.  .  .  .  They  also  considered  that  to 
follow  more  than  one  occupation  would  be  detrimental  to 
their  own  interests  and  to  those  of  the  community;  and 
that,  when  men,  from  a  motive  of  avarice,  are  induced  to 
engage  in  numerous  branches  of  art,  the  result  generally 
is  that  they  are  unable  to  excel  in  any." 

The  results  of  this  care  have  secured  for  Egypt  its  un- 
dying fame.  The  byssus,  woven  in  the  looms  of  those  who 
worked  "  in  combed  flax,"  was  sold  for  its  weight  in  gold ; 
and  Pliny,  accounting  for  the  large  quantity  of  flax  cul- 
tivated in  Egypt  explains  that  the  Egyptians  exported 
linen  to  Arabia  and  India,  and  adds  that  the  quality  of 
that  produced  by  Egyptian  looms  was  far  superior  to  any 


54  EGYPT. 

other.  "  Nor  was  the  praise  bestowed  upon  that  manufacture 
Unmerited;  and  the  quality  of  one  piece  of  linen  found 
near  Memphis  fully  justifies  it,  and  excites  equal  admira- 
tion at  the  present  day,  being  to  the  touch  comparable  to 
silk,  and  not  inferior  in  texture  to  our  finest  cambric. 
Some  idea  may  be  given  of  its  texture  from  the  number 
of  threads  in  the  inch,  which  is  540  (270  double  threads) 
in  the  warp,"  and  110  in  the  woof.  "It  is  covered  with 
small  figures  and  hieroglyphics,  so  finely  drawn  that  here 
and  there  the  lines  are  with  difficulty  followed  by  the  eye. 
.  The  perfection  of  its  threads  is  equally  surprising ; 
the  knots  and  breaks,  seen  in  our  best  cambric,  are  not 
found  in  holding  it  to  the  light."  * 

Their  superiority  was  as  marked  in  spinning  as  in 
weaving.  The  threads  employed,  for  example,  in  the 
manufacture  of  nets  astonished  the  ancients  by  their 
firmness  and  strength.  Some  of  the  nets,  Pliny  says, 
"were  so  delicate  that  they  would  pass  through  a  man's 
ring,  and  a  single  person  could  carry  a  sufficient  number 
of  them  to  surround  a  whole  wood.  Julius  Lupus,  who 
died  while  Governor  of  Egypt,  had  some  of  these  nets, 
each  string  of  which  consisted  of  150  threads ;  a  fact 
perfectly  surprising  to  those  who  are  not  aware  that  the 
Khodians  preserve  to  this  day  in  the  temple  of  Minerva 
a  linen  corslet  presented  to  them  by  Amasis,  King  of 
Egypt,  whose  threads  are  composed  each  of  365  fibres." 
Herodotus  mentions  another  presented  by  the  same  king  to 
the  Lacedaemonians,  "It  was  of  linen,"  he  says,  "ornamented 
with  numerous  figures  of  animals  worked  in  gold  and 
cotton.  Each  thread  of  the  corslet  was  worthy  of  admira- 
tion. For,  though  very  fine,  every  one  was  composed  of 
360  other  threads,  all  distinct." 

The  "combing"  of  the  flax  was  a  marked  feature  in  the 
manufacture.     The    cloth    was    subjected    to    a    process    of 
smoothing,     or    calendering.       They    also     anticipated    the 
*  ibid.  75-80. 


EXTINCTION   OF    ITS    INDUSTRIES.  55 

moderns  in  the  use  of  dyes.  "Another  very  remarkable 
discovery  of  the  Egyptians  was  the  use  of  mordants.  They 
were  acquainted  with  the  effect  of  acids  on  colour,  and 
submitted  the  cloth  they  dyed  to  one  of  the  same  processes 
adopted  in  our  modern  manufactories;  and  while,  from  his 
account,  we  perceive  how  little  Pliny  understood  the 
process  he  was  describing,  he  at  the  same  time  gives  us 
the  strongest  evidence  of  its  truth.  'In  Egypt,'  he  says, 
'they  stain  clothes  in  a  wonderful  manner.  They  take 
them  in  their  original  state,  quite  white,  and  imbue  them, 
not  with  a  dye,  but  with  certain  drugs  which  have  the 
power  of  absorbing  and  taking  colour.  When  this  is  done 
there  is  still  no  appearance  of  change  in  the  cloths;  but  so 
soon  as  they  are  dipped  into  a  bath  of  the  pigment,  which 
has  been  prepared  for  the  purpose,  they  are  taken  out 
properly  coloured,  The  singular  thing  is,  that  though  the 
bath  contains  only  one  colour,  several  hues  are  imparted  to 
the  piece  .  .  .  nor  can  the  colour  be  afterwards  washed 
off.' "  * 

This  is  not  the  only  indication  presented  by  their 
manufactures  that  they  were  acquainted  with  the  secrets  of 
modern  science.  "That  the  Egyptians  possessed  con- 
siderable knowledge  of  chemistry  and  the  use  of  metallic- 
oxides,  is  evident  from  the  nature  of  the  colours  applied  to 
their  glass  and  porcelain."  f  Glass  cutting  was  supposed 
to  have  been  first  invented  in  the  17th  century  by  Lehmann 
at  Prague.  "But  the  specimens  of  ancient  glass,  cut, 
engraved,  and  ground,  discovered  in  Egypt  suffice  to  prove 
it  was  practised  there  of  old.  .  .  .  Emery  powder  and 
the  lapidary's  wheel  were  also  used  in  Egypt."  ; 

The  manufacture  of  glass  itself  has  also  been  regarded  as 
an  invention  of  modern  times.  "They  were  well  acquainted," 
says  Wilkinson,  to  whose  great  work  I  mainly  confine  my- 
self for  testimony  as  to  the  character  of  Egyptian  industries, 
"not  only  with  the  manufacture  of  common  glass  for 
*ibid.  II.  83.  fibid.  II.  66.  Zibid.  II.  67. 


56  EGYPT. 

beads  and  bottles  of  ordinary  quality,  but  with  the  art 
of  staining  it  of  divers  colours.  .  .  .  And  so  skilful  were 
they  in  this  complicated  process,  that  they  imitated  the 
most  fanciful  devices,  and  succeeded  in  counterfeiting  the 
rich  hues  and  brilliancy  of  precious  stones.  The  green 
emerald,  the  purple  amethyst,  and  other  expensive  gems 
were  successfully  imitated.  .  .  .  Some  mock  pearls 
(found  by  me  at  Thebes)  have  been  so  well  counter- 
feited that  even  now  it  is  difficult  with  a  strong  lens  to 
detect  the  imposition."*  Winckelmann  speaks  of  two 
pieces  of  glass  mosaic  which  show  the  perfection  attained 
by  the  workers  in  glass.  One  of  the  pieces,  "  though  not 
quite  an  inch  in  length,  and  a  third  of  an  inch  in  breadth 
exhibits,  on  a  dark  and  variegated  ground,  a  bird  re- 
sembling a  duck  in  very  bright  and  varied  colours.  .  .  . 
The  outlines  are  bold  and  decided,  the  colours  beautiful 
and  pure,  and  the  effect  very  pleasing;  in  consequence  of 
the  artist  having  alternately  introduced  an  opaque  and  a 
transparent  glass.  The  most  delicate  pencil  of  a  miniature 
painter  could  not  have  traced  with  greater  sharpness  the 
circle  of  the  eyeball,  or  the  plumage  of  the  neck  and  wings, 
at  which  part  this  specimen  has  been  broken.  But  the 
most  surprising  thing  is  that  the  reverse  exhibits  the  same 
bird,  in  which  it  is  impossible  to  discover  any  difference 
in  the  smallest  details ;  whence  it  may  be  concluded  that 
the  figure  of  the  bird  continues  through  its  entire 
thickness." 

Nor  was  glass  merely  used  for  ornamental  purposes. 
Vases  and  bottles  were  manufactured,  the  latter  being 
sometimes  protected  by  wickerwork  or  encased  in  leather. 
They  also  manufactured  porcelain.  "Many  of  the  por- 
celain cups  discovered  at  Thebes  present  a  tasteful  ar- 
rangement of  varied  hues,  and  show  the  skill  of  the 
Egyptians  and  the  great  experience  they  possessed  in  this 
branch  of  art."  f  They  were  famed  also  for  their  tanning 
*  ibid.  II.  64.  f  ibid.  II.  65-66. 


EXTINCTION    OF    ITS    INDUSTEIES.  57 

and  their  work  in  leather.  In  cutting  the  leather  they  made 
use  of  the  semi-circular  knife,  and  "  what  we  term  '  the 
circular  cut'  was  known  to  the  ancient  Egyptians  3,300 
years  ago.  .  .  .  The  fine  quality  of  the  straps  placed 
across  the  bodies  of  mummies,  discovered  at  Thebes,  and 
the  beauty  of  the  figures  stamped  upon  them  satisfactorily 
prove  the  skill  of  '  the  leather  cutters '  as  well  as  the  anti- 
quity of  embossing.  .  .  .  Many  of  the  occupations  of 
their  trade  are  portrayed  on  the  painted  walls  of  the  tombs 
of  Thebes.  They  made  shoes,  sandals,  the  coverings  of 
seats  of  chairs  or  sofas,  bow-cases,  and  most  of  the  orna- 
mental furniture  of  the  chariot."  *  So  great  was  the  con- 
sumption of  leather  that  skins  were  largely  imported  from 
foreign  countries. 

It  is  impossible  to  present  in  a  cursory  notice  like  the 
present  any  adequate  picture  of  the  manifold  industries  of 
this  land.  "  Many  arts  and  inventions  were  in  common 
use  in  Egypt  for  centuries  before  they  are  generally  sup- 
posed to  have  been  known ;  and  we  are  now  and  then  as 
much  surprised  to  find  that  certain  things  were  old  3,000 
years  ago,  as  the  Egyptians  would  be  if  they  could  hear  us 
talk  of  them  as  late  discoveries."  f  They  were  acquainted 
with  mining,  with  the  crushing  of  auriferous  quartz  to 
obtain  the  gold,  with  gold-refining,  with  gold-beating  in 
which  they  manufactured  leaf  of  great  fineness,  and  with 
the  making  of  gold  and  silver  wire  which  they  used  in 
weaving  patterns  in  which  the  details  were  sometimes  so 
minute  as  to  be  scarcely  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  From 
this  it  appears  that  they  were  acquainted  with  the  use  of 
the  magnifying  glass.  "Among  the  remarkable  inventions 
of  a  remote  era  among  the  Egyptians  may  be  mentioned 
bellows  and  siphons."  They  also  used  the  syringe.  They 
seem  to  have  excelled  the  moderns  in  their  knowledge  of 
metallurgy.  "  The  labour  experienced  by  the  French 
engineers,  who  removed  the  obelisk  of  Luxor  from  Thebes, 
*ibid.  II.  93-102.  -fibid.  II.  57. 


58  EGYPT. 

in  cutting  a  space  less  than  two  feet  deep  along  the  face  of 
its  partially-decomposed  pedestal,  suffices  to  show  that 
even  with  our  excellent  modern  implements  we  find  con- 
siderable difficulty  in  doing  what  to  the  Egyptians  would 
have  been  one  of  the  least  arduous  tasks."  There  is  good 
ground  for  supposing  that  "the  Egyptians  must  have 
possessed  certain  secrets  in  hardening  or  tempering  copper 
with  which  we  are  totally  unacquainted.  .  .  .  They 
had  even  the  secret  of  giving  to  bronze,  or  brass  blades  a 
certain  degree  of  elasticity.  .  .  .  Another  remarkable 
feature  in  their  bronze  is  the  resistance  it  offers  to  the  effect 
of  the  atmosphere,  some  continuing  smooth  and  bright 
though  buried  for  ages  and  since  exposed  to  the  damp  of 
European  climates.  They  had  also  the  secret  of  covering 
the  surface  with  a  rich  patina  of  dark  or  light  green,  or 
other  colour,  by  applying  acids  to  it;  as  was  done  by  the 
Greeks  and  Komans,  and  as  we  do  to  the  iron  guns  on 
board  our  men-of-war."* 

The  moving  of  immense  masses  of  stone  hundreds  of 
miles  "  shows  that  the  Egyptians  were  well  acquainted  with 
mechanical  powers,  and  the  mode  of  applying  a  locomotive 
force  with  the  most  wonderful  success."  But  their  skill 
"  was  not  confined  to  the  mere  moving  of  immense  weights  ; 
their  wonderful  knowledge  of  mechanism  is  shown  in  the 
erection  of  obelisks,  and  in  the  position  of  large  stones, 
raised  to  a  considerable  height,  and  adjusted  with  the 
utmost  precision;  sometimes,  too,  in  situations  where  the 
space  will  not  admit  the  introduction  of  the  inclined 
plane."  f 

In  referring  to  Egyptian  carpentry,  Wilkinson  speaks  of 
"the  perfection  to  which  they  had  arrived  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  chairs  and  ottomans  of  their  rooms."  With  the 
elegant  designs  of  these,  which  have  been  reproduced  in 
the  furniture  of  modern  drawing  rooms,  all  are  familiar. 
Of  their  architecture,  sculpture,  and  painting  I  need  not 
*ibid.  II.  156-159.  til.  309-311. 


EXTINCTION    OF    ITS    INDUSTRIES.  59 

speak,  nor  of  the  embalming  which  has  preserved  the 
human  body,  and  kept  intact  every  feature,  and  the  very 
expression  of  the  face  for  thousands  of  years.  It  is  enough 
to  say  that  the  superiority  we  have  already  remarked 
distinguished  every  industry  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest. 
"So  wisely,"  says  Herodotus,  "was  medicine  managed  by 
them  that  no  doctor  was  permitted  to  practise  any  but 
his  own  peculiar  branch.  Some  were  oculists,  who  only 
studied  diseases  of  the  eye ;  others  attended  solely  to 
complaints  of  the  head;  others  to  those  of  the  teeth. 
.  And  it  is  a  singular  fact,  that  their  dentists  adopted 
a  method,  not  very  long  practised  in  Europe,  of  stopping 
teeth  with  gold,  proofs  of  which  have  been  obtained  from 
some  mummies  of  Thebes."*  Even  in  the  meanest  employ- 
ments the  same  excellence  was  shown.  The  skill  of  the 
shepherds  in  rearing  animals  of  different  kinds  was  the 
result,  says  Diodorous,  of  the  experience  they  had  inherited 
from  their  parents,  and  subsequently  increased  by  their  own 
observation ;  and  the  spirit  of  emulation,  which  is  natural 
to  all  men,  constantly  adding  to  their  stock  of  knowledge, 
they  introduced  many  improvements  unknown  to  other 
people.  Their  sheep  were  twice  shorn,  and  twice  brought 
forth  lambs  in  the  course  of  one  year;  and  though  climate 
was  the  chief  cause  of  these  phenomena,  the  skill  and 
attention  of  the  shepherd  were  also  necessary;  nor,  if  the 
animals  were  neglected,  would  unaided  nature  alone  suffice 
for  their  continuance."  f 

Now,  in  the  face  of  this  stupendous  and  varied  activity, 
in  the  face  of  the  arts  and  industries  into  which  the  strength 
of  the  entire  population  was  put  and  in  which  they  had 
attained  unrivalled  excellence,  it  was  declared  that  all 
should  pass  away.  The  pillars  of  the  state,  it  was  said, 
should  be  broken,  and  the  workers  for  hire  should  be 
grieved  in  soul.  There  should  be  no  work  which  either 
high  or  low  should  do.  If  the  people  were  to  continue  and 
*  ibid,  II.  169.       f  ibid,  II.  350. 


60  EGYPT. 

the  kingdom  to  remain  it  seemed  most  unlikely  that  any 
such  fate  could  ever  befal  them.  And  long  after  the 
prophecy  was  uttered  there  seemed  no  sign  of  its  fulfil- 
ment. When  Alexander  conquered  Egypt  new  markets 
were  opened  up  for  her  products,  and  the  destruction  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon  gave  new  life  to  her  commerce.  Diodorous, 
who  has  been  so  often  quoted  in  the  above  description, 
completed  his  history  within  a  few  years  of  the  birth 
of  our  Lord,  and  he  speaks  not  of  what  had  been,  but 
of  what  was  still  a  feature  of  his  own  time.  Pliny 
wrote  100  years  later  and  his  testimony  is  the  same.  Till 
Christianity  became  the  religion  of  the  Roman  empire 
the  priests  ministered  in  the  temples,  but  with  diminished 
lustre.  But  with  this  change  that  work  for  head  and  palm- 
branch  passed  away.  In  the  decline  which  followed  and 
which  deepened  so  rapidly  under  the  Arab  and  Turkish 
dominions,  the  glory  and  the  wealth  of  Egypt  perished. 
"  In  the  three  centuries  of  mixed  Turkish  and  Mamlouk 
misrule  which  followed  the  Ottoman  conquest,  Arab  art  of 
every  kind  lost  its  cunning,  and  when  Bonaparte's  savants 
entered  Cairo  they  found  its  handicrafts,  as  its  learning,  at 
the  lowest  ebb  of  decadence.  Twenty  years  later  Mehemet 
Ali  began  a  series  of  efforts  to  revive  the  old  mechanical 
skill  for  which  Egyptian  workmen  had  once  been  famous, 
but  the  special  aim  and  the  methods  of  his  reforms  in  this 
direction  were  alike  unsound,  and  costly  failure  was  the 
result."*  "Regardless  of  expense,  he  imported  large 
quantities  of  costly  machinery  with  skilled  operatives  at 
high  wages,  erecting  vast  mills  all  over  the  Delta."  The 
ruins  of  these  and  of  others  erected  by  his  successors  in 
their  attempt  to  succeed  where  he  had  failed  have  proved 
how  irreversible  is  this  doom  pronounced  from  of  old.  The 
attempt  has  resulted  "  only  in  a  great  waste  of  time,  money, 
machinery,    and    labour."  f      Relics    of    former    skill    which 

*  "  The  Khedive's  Egypt,"  De  Leon,  200. 
f  M'Coan,  "  Egypt  as  It  Is,"  296. 


DESOLATION  OF   THE   SURROUNDING  COUNTRIES.  61 

remained  even  till  comparatively  recent  times  have  also 
passed  away.  Speaking  of  Damietta  M'Coan  says :  "  It 
was  formerly  famous  for  its  manufacture  of  leather,  and  for 
the  striped  linen  cloths  called  Dimity  (from  Dimyat  the 
Arab  name  of  the  town)  but  both  these  have  long  ceased 
to  be  specialities  of  the  place."  *  Her  agriculture  still 
remains  the  one  employment  and  stay  of  her  people,  but 
it  is  not  the  agriculture  of  the  past.  Its  unskilfulness  and 
poverty  awaken  alike  the  scorn  and  the  pity  of  the  nations 
who  admired  and  envied  the  agriculture  which  once  bore 
the  stamp  of  Egyptian  greatness. 

We  have   now  to   notice   another   remarkable   feature   in 
the  prophetic  picture. 

THE    CONDITION    OF    ALL    THE    SURROUNDING 
COUNTRIES 

is  vividly  portrayed.  In  describing  the  effects  of  the 
Babylonian  inroad,  God,  speaking  by  Ezekiel,  says :  "I 
will  make  the  land  of  Egypt  desolate  in  the  midst  of  the 
countries  that  are  desolate,  and  her  cities  among  the  cities 
that  are  laid  waste  shall  be  desolate  forty  years"  (xxix.  12). 
But  the  ruin  of  that  time  was  in  itself  a  prophecy ;  for  in 
the  description  of  her  after  and  permanent  condition  the 
same  words  recur  :  "  They  shall  be  desolate  in  the  midst  of 
the  countries  that  are  desolate,  and  her  cities  shall  be  in 
the  midst  of  the  cities  that  are  wasted"  (xxx.  7).  The 
first  judgment  was  but  the  type  of  the  desolation  which  was 
yet  to  fall.  It  was  the  blighting  touch  of  the  early  frost 
which  told  of  the  setting  in  of  a  dark  and  bitter  winter. 

The  prediction,  it  will  be  noticed,  takes  a  wide  range. 
It  foretells  disaster  not  for  Egypt  only,  but  also  for  all  the 
surrounding  countries.  It  is  to  be  a  desolation  in  the 
midst  of  desolations.  A  hurried  glance  at  the  countries 
bordering  on  Egypt  will  show  that  the  words  have  been 
made  good,  and  that  even  at  the  beginning  of  our  era  it 
*  "Egypt  as  It  Is,"  64,  65. 


62  EGYPT. 

was  utterly  impossible  that  their  fulfilment  could  have  been 
foreseen.  On  the  north  Egypt  is  bounded  by  the  waters 
of  the  Mediterranean;  but  on  the  west,  south,  and  partly 
on  the  east,  she  looked  out  upon  other  countries  which, 
long  after  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  were  great 
and  populous.  On  the  north-west  lies  the  province  of  Barca, 
the  eastern  division  of  Tripoli.  It  includes  the  ancient 
Cyrenaica,  sometimes  called  Pentapolis  from  the  five  great 
Cities  of  Cyrene,  Apollonia,  Ptolemais,  Arsinoe,  and 
Berenice.  Readers  of  the  New  Testament  are  familiar 
with  its  mention  of  Cyrene,  and  the  "  parts  of  Libya  about 
Cyrene."  Over  the  whole  country  were  scattered  wealthy 
and  splendid  cities,  which  retained  their  prosperity  at  the 
time  of  our  Lord.  In  the  year  115  a.d.  the  Jews,  great 
numbers  of  whom  dwelt  in  Cyrenaica,  broke  out  into 
rebellion.  During  the  insurrection  and  its  suppression  the 
country  suffered  greatly;  and  it  was  colonized  afresh  by 
the  Emperor  Hadrian.  Under  the  fostering  care  of  the 
Romans  it  revived,  and,  though  it  afterwards  suffered  much 
from  the  oppression  of  its  Greek  governors,  it  continued  to 
prosper.  In  the  fourth  century  it  was  overrun  by  barbarous 
hordes  from  the  south,  and  the  city  of  Cyrene  was 
destroyed.  Three  centuries  afterwards  a  heavier  blow  fell. 
The  Persians  under  Khosroo  Purveez  invaded  Egypt,  and 
then  poured  into  Cyrenaica,  committing  such  dreadful 
havoc  that  the  country  was  nearly  depopulated.  Under 
the  Saracens  the  work  of  devastation  was  completed. 
Cyrenaica  was  so  oppressed  that  the  inhabitants  of  Barca, 
for  example,  emigrated  in  a  body,  and  that  city  has  since 
wholly  disappeared.  The  entire  country  gradually  succumbed, 
and  its  cities  have  remained  in  ruins  ever  since.  There 
are  now  only  two  places  which  deserve  the  name  of 
towns;  and  the  rest  of  the  country  is  inhabited  solely 
by  wandering  Arabs.  Cyrenaica  still  deserves  the  name 
"Jebel  Akhbar"  (the  green  mountain),  but  the  luxurious 
and  pleasure-loving  Cyrenians  have  long  since  passed  away. 


DESOLATION    OF    THE    SURROUNDING    COUNTRIES.  63 

Their  cities,  once  filled  with  the  noise  of  busy,  joyous  life, 
are  silent  as  the  grave,  save  when  the  Arabs  chance  to  rest 
for  a  while  within  their  ruined  walls.  On  that  side  of 
Egypt  there  is  certainly  desolation. 

To  the  south-west  of  Barca  is  Fezzan,  the  ancient 
Phazania,  the  great  oasis  of  the  Sahara  which  bounds 
Egypt  on  the  west.  In  19  b.c.  Cornelius  Balba  obtained 
a  triumph  for  the  conquest  of  the  country,  and  represen- 
tations of  its  cities  formed  part  of  the  processional  display. 
This  country  also  has  been  desolated.  Its  great  cities  have 
long  since  crumbled  into  ruin;  and  the  entire  population, 
for  a  territory  of  three  hundred  miles  in  length  and  two 
hundred  in  breadth,  does  not  exceed  twenty-six  thousand, 
or  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  one  of  our  minor  towns. 
Within  the  past  century  its  trade  has  almost  wholly  dis- 
appeared. "The  inhabitants  formerly  depended  to  a  great 
extent  on  the  caravans  which  passed  through  the  country; 
but  this  trade  has  been  almost  wholly  lost,  and  Fezzan  has 
in  consequence  become  greatly  impoverished  and  depopu- 
lated. The  oases  are  capable  of  yielding  an  ample  supply 
of  the  necessaries  of  life,  but  cultivation  is  neglected,  and 
several  oases  have  been  altogether  abandoned." 

We  turn  to  the  south.  The  southern  boundary  of  Egypt 
was  drawn  at  Philae,  above  the  first  cataract.  Beyond  this 
stretched  the  great  kingdom  of  Ethiopia,  sharing  with 
Egypt  itself  the  blessings  of  the  same  mighty  stream  which 
rolls  onward  its  sea-like  waters  from  the  Equator  to  the 
Mediterranean.  For  about  fifteen  miles  below  the  junction 
of  the  Blue  and  the  White  Nile,  the  river  flows  through  a 
gloomy  pass  between  the  mountains,  and  then  sweeps  out 
into  broad  plains  covered  with  vegetation  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  reach.  In  this  fertile  district  lay  Meroe,  the  ancient 
capital  of  Ethiopia,  It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that 
Egypt  itself  was  colonized  from  Ethiopia  ;  and  it  is  certain 
that  the  latter  was  at  a  very  early  period  characterized  by 
order,  civilization,  and  strength.       Herodotus  tells   us   that 


64 


EGYPT. 


Ethiopia  was  never  conquered  by  a  foreign  power,  and  yet 
we  know  that  so  early  as  the  twelfth  dynasty,  at  least  two 
thousand  years  before  our  era,  the  Ethiopians  were  reckoned 
among  the  most  formidable  enemies  of  Egypt.  Their 
power  must  have  remained  unbroken,  therefore,  for  many 
centuries.  About  711  B.C.  they  became  masters  of  Egypt 
under  their  king  Sabacon,  the  So  of  Scripture,  by  whom 
and  his  successors  it  was  held  for  more  than  fifty  years. 
Cambyses,  incited  by  the  ambition  to  extend  his  conquests 
farther  than  had  been  done  by  any  who  had  gone  before 
him,  resolved  upon  the  subjugation  of  Ethiopia.  He  sent 
ambassadors  into  the  country  with  presents,  whose  real 
mission  was  to  act  as  spies.  The  king,  reading  the 
purpose  which  lay  beneath  the  show  of  respect  and  friend- 
ship, bade  the  ambassadors  carry  back  his  bow,  with  the 
message  that  when  their  master  could  bend  it  as  easily  as 
he  himself  could  he  might  begin  the  war.  Cambyses  was 
filled  with  rage.  He  invaded  the  country,  but,  in  attempting 
to  lead  his  army  by  a  shorter  route  across  the  desert,  he 
was  compelled,  after  his  troops  had  endured  the  most  terrible 
sufferings,  to  make  an  ignominious  retreat. 

To  such  inroads  Ethiopia  was  frequently  subjected,  but 
it  was  never  annexed  to  Egypt.  It  was  never  conquered 
even  by  the  Romans,  and  it  was  still  formidable  in  the  time 
of  Diocletian,  at  the  close  of  the  third  century.  He 
persuaded  the  Noubas  to  remove  from  the  deserts  of 
Libya,  and  to  occupy  a  district  on  the  frontier  of  Egypt, 
extending  seven  days  march  towards  Ethiopia.  They  held 
this  territory  on  the  condition  of  their  protecting  the  empire 
from  the  inroads  of  the  Blemmyes  and  the  Ethiopians. 
"  The  treaty,"  says  Gibbon,  "  long  subsisted ;  and  till  the 
establishment  of  Christianity  introduced  stricter  notions  of 
religious  worship,  it  was  annually  ratified  by  a  solemn 
sacrifice  in  the  isle  of  Elephantine,  in  which  the  Romans, 
as  well  as  the  barbarians,  adored  the  same  visible  or 
invisible    powers    of    the    universe."      This    kingdom    was 


TO    BE    A   DESOLATION.  65 

afterwards  greatly  extended,  and  its  capital  was  fixed  as  far 
south  as  Dongola.  When  the  Arabs  entered  Egypt  in 
638,  they  found  the  Noubas  a  strong  Christian  kingdom. 
It  retained  its  independence  till  the  thirteenth  century. 
But  the  repeated  inroads  of  the  Mohammedans  sapped  the 
foundations  of  its  strength.  The  formerly  strong  govern- 
ment was  overthrown,  and  the  country  was  broken  up  into 
various  small  states.  The  Mohammedans  poured  in,  and 
Christianity  was  gradually  extinguished  from  the  south  of 
Egypt  to  the  borders  of  Abyssinia.  This  country  also  is  a 
desolation.  Its  empire  and  its  strength  are  gone.  The 
sites  of  its  ancient  cities  are  matter  of  conjecture.  The 
recent  temporary  conquest  of  the  country  by  the  Egyptian 
government  was  as  fruitless  in  wealth  as  it  was  in  glory. 
The  eye  seeks  in  vain  for  any  present  token  of  greatness 
or  prosperity.  That  it  once  was  great  its  ruins  and  the 
page  of  history  alone  declare.  But  it  was  simply  impossible 
that  its  desolation  could  have  been  foreseen  by  man  even 
seven  centuries  after  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era. 

Of  the  countries  to  the  east  of  Egypt  we  need  say  nothing 
now.  These  prophecy  has  singled  out  by  name,  and  their 
condition  and  story  will  come  before  us  again.  It  is 
enough  to  say  that  desolation  has  fallen  upon  them  all; 
a  desolation  which,  though  predicted  from  of  old,  yet 
lingered  long  before  it  fell,  and  which,  even  at  the 
beginning  of  our  era,  could  not  have  been  regarded  as 
even   probable. 

BUT  EGYPT  HERSELF  WAS  TO  SHARE  IN  THE 
GENERAL  DECAY. 

Her  kingdom  was  to  continue,  but  her  fulness  and  might 
were  to  pass  away.  "They  shall  be  desolate  among  the 
countries  that  are  desolate."  Contrast  the  Egypt  of  to-day 
with  the  Egypt  of  the  Eoman  conquest;  compare  the 
luxury  and  magnificence  of  the  one  with  the  meanness  and 
wretchedness  of   the   other,   and   no  further   proof   will   be 

E 


C6  EGYPT. 

required  that  she  has  shared  the  fate  of  her  sister  countries. 
The  doom  has  fallen  upon  her  fertile  fields,  as  well  as 
upon  her  civilization  and  her  cities.  The  total  area  of 
Egypt  was  ascertained,  by  the  French  survey  in  1798,  to 
be  115,200  square  miles.  Only  9582,  "including  the  Nile 
bed  and  the  islands  within  it,"  *  were  watered  by  the  river, 
and  fit,  therefore,  for  cultivation.  Under  recent  improve- 
ments the  land  capable  of  being  tilled  amounts  to  11,351 
square  miles,  less  than  a  tenth  of  the  entire  surface  of  the 
country.  But  all  is  not  told  when  this  is  said.  More  than 
a  third  of  this,  though  irrigated,  is  not  tilled,  and  the  land 
at  present  under  cultivation  is  only  about  one-sixteenth  of 
the  whole  area  of   the  country. 

The  desolation  is  not  proved  by  statistics  alone.  It  is 
painfully  obvious.  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  says :  "  The 
plain  of  San"  (the  ancient  Zoan)  "is  very  extensive,  but 
thinly  inhabited ;  no  village  exists  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  ancient  Tanis;  and  when  looking  from  the  mounds  of 
this  once  splendid  city  towards  the  distant  palms  of  in- 
distinct villages,  we  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  by  the  desolation 
spread  around  it.  The  'field  of  Zoan'  is  now  a  barren 
waste :  a  canal  passes  through  it  without  being  able  to 
fertilize  the  soil."  f  Speaking  of  the  Fyoom,  a  district 
above  Cairo,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Nile,  he  says  the 
mounds  of  towns  "occur  in  many  parts  of  the  Fyoom; 
and  though  we  cannot  credit  the  tradition  of  the  people 
that  it  formerly  contained  3GG  towns  and  villages,  it  is 
evident  that  it  was  a  populous  nome  of  Ancient  Egypt,  and 
that  many  once  existed  both  in  the  centre  and  on  the  now 
barren  skirts  of  the  Fyoom.  Indeed,  the  cultivated  land 
extended  far  beyond  its  present  limits :  a  great  portion  of 
the  desert  plain  was  then  taken  into  cultivation,  and  I 
have  seen  several  places  where  canals  and  the  traces  of 
cultivated  fields  are  still  discernible  to  a  considerable 
distance  east  and  west  of  the  modern  irrigated  lands."  t 
*  Egypt  as  It  Is,"  p.  19. 
f  "Murray's  Handbook  of  Egypt,"  p.  234.        t  ibid.  p.  256. 


ITS    CITIES    AMONG    THE    CITIES    THAT    ARE    WASTED.       67 

But  the  special  feature  in  the  desolation  of  Egypt,  and 
that  which  was  to  make  her  continuance  consistent  with 
her  decay,  was  this :  "  Her  cities  shall  be  in  the  midst  of 
the  cities  that  are  wasted."  No  words  can  more  graphically 
set  before  us  Egypt  as  it  is.  She  is  indeed  "the  land 
of  ruins;"  she  is  one  vast  burial-place  of  the  art  and  mag- 
nificence of  the  past,  and  her  present  homes  are,  as  it 
were,  dwellings  among  the  tombs.  She  cannot  be  said  to 
have  preserved  one  ancient  city.  "  The  present  town  of 
Assouan  has  been  built  a  little  to  the  north  of  a  former 
town  of  Saracenic  origin,  the  ruins  of  which  are  seen 
above  it,  and  which  was  itself  built  upon  the  ruins  of 
the  Roman  city.  The  whole  town  is  encompassed  with 
vestiges  of  buildings."  Alexandria  cannot  be  reckoned 
among  the  ancient  cities  of  Egypt.  It  was  unknown  to 
the  Pharaohs  But  the  city  of  Alexander,  of  the  Ptolemies, 
of  the  Romans,  of  the  lower  empire,  even  of  the  Arab 
conquest,  will  now  be  sought  in  vain.  "  The  site  of  the 
ancient  city,  which  is  to  the  south  of  the  present  town, 
presents  an  immense  field  of  confused  ruins ;  over  a  space 
of  from  six  to  seven  miles  in  circuit  is  spread  an  assem- 
blage of  broken  columns,  obelisks,  and  shapeless  masses 
of  architecture,  rising  frequently  to  a  greater  height  than 
the  surrounding  houses.  Here,  amid  the  heaps  of  rubbish, 
are  seen  some  churches,  mosques,  and  monasteries,  and 
three  small  clusters  of  dwellings,  formerly  three  towns. 
Traces  are  discernible  of  ancient  streets  in  straight  lines, 
and  some  ruins  of  colonnades  mark  the  sites  of  palaces."* 
These  ruins  have  been  still  further  "wasted."  "Little  now 
remains,"  says  Wilkinson,  "of  the  splendid  edifices  of 
Alexandria ;  and  the  few  columns  and  traces  of  walls, 
which  a  few  years  ago  rose  above  the  mounds,  are  now  no 
longer  seen." 

Even  the  Damietta  of  the  crusades,  the  ancient  Tamiathis, 
has  passed  away.     In  1249  it  was  taken  by  the  Christians, 

*  "Modern  Traveller"  (published  1827),  vol.  I.,  pp.  189,  190. 


68  EGYPT. 

and  soon  after  surrendered.  In  1250  it  was  destroyed 
by  the  Mohammedans  themselves,  because  of  its  exposed 
position,  and  a  new  Damietta  was  built  five  and  a  half 
miles  farther  south.  Nor  is  it  only  in  the  wasting  of  its 
ancient  cities  that  the  fulfilment  of  the  prediction  is  seen. 
Geezeh  was  a  favourite  summer  resort  of  the  Memlooks 
and  the  inhabitants  of  Cairo.  "It  is  now  a  mere  village, 
with  a  few  cafes,  ruined  bazaars,  and  the  wrecks  of  houses. 
.  .  .  .  Leo  Africanus"  (writing  about  the  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  century)  "calls  it  a  city,  beautified  by  the 
palaces  of  the  Memlooks,  who  there  sought  retirement 
from  the  bustle  of  Cairo,  and  frequented  by  numerous 
merchants  and  artizans.  .  .  .  The  mosks  and  beautiful 
buildings  at  the  river  side  are  no  longer  to  be  seen  at 
Geezeh;  and  the  traveller,  as  he  leaves  his  boat,  wanders 
amidst  uneven  heaps  of  rubbish,  and  the  ill-defined  limits 
of  potters'  yards,  till  he  issues  from  a  breach  in  the 
crumbling  Memlook  walls  into  the  open  plain."  *  One 
more  instance  may  suffice.  "Rosetta  has  always  been 
considered  the  most  agreeable  and  the  prettiest  town  of 
Egypt,  celebrated  for  its  gardens,  and  looked  upon  by  the 
Cairenes,  as  well  as  Alexandrians,  as  a  most  delightful 
retreat  during  summer.  It  has  still  its  gardens,  which 
surround  it  on  three  sides,  and  the  advantages  of  situation ; 
but  it  has  lost  much  of  its  importance  as  a  town,  and  has 
ceased  to  be  the  resort  of  strangers.  The  population,  too, 
is  so  much  diminished  that  a  great  proportion  of  its 
houses  are  completely  deserted  and  falling,  if  not  already 
fallen,  into  ruins."  f 

There  is  no  sign,  therefore,  that,  though  the  ancient 
ruins  were  wholly  swept  away,  the  cities  of  Egypt  should 
not  still  be  among  the  cities  that  are  wasted.  This  burden 
of  decay  Egypt  has  never  thrown  aside.  It  cannot  remove 
it  now,  and  beneath  it  its  cities  are  crumbling  still.  And 
no  words  can  give  us  a  truer  and  more  vivid  picture  of 
*  "  Murray's  Handbook  of  Egypt,"  p.  173.      t  ibid,  p.  104. 


THE    CHARACTER    OF    ITS    MASTERS.  69 

its  desolation  than  is  given  in  this  brief  but  clear  utterance 
of  prophecy  :  "  Her  cities  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  the  cities 
that  are  wasted."  The  traveller  cannot  turn  in  any  direction 
without  encountering  mounds  of  ruins  which  mark  the 
sites  of  ancient  cities,  more  or  less  "wasted."  Like  sheaves 
on  the  harvest-field  they  lie  thickly  strewn  over  the  whole 
country;  and  its  attraction  and  wonder  are  not  the  Egypt 
of  the  present,  but  what  is  still  found  in  these  heaps  of 
the  Egypt  of  the  past. 

Let  us  now  glance  at  what  is  said  of  the  possessors  of  Egypt. 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  ITS  MASTERS 

is  first  of  all  described  in  one  clear,  emphatic  word :  "I 
will  sell  the  land  into  the  hand  of  the  wicked"  (Ezek. 
xxx.  12).  It  may  be  noticed  in  passing  that  the  phrase, 
"  I  will  sell  the  land,"  denotes,  in  the  language  of  Scripture, 
its  unresisting  surrender  into  the  hand  of  an  enemy.  As 
slaves  are  sold  into  the  hand  of  a  master,  so  will  they  be 
sold  into  the  hand  of  the  wicked.  The  dominion  fore- 
shadowed is  one  of  irresponsible  unscrupulousness  and 
ferocity.  The  slave  has  no  rights,  and  the  wicked  has  no 
mercy.  It  is  strange  to  find  that  almost  the  very  words  of 
the  prophecy  have  been  unconsciously  repeated  by  those 
who  have  weighed  the  condition  of  this  unhappy  country. 
Volney,  for  example,  calls  it  "the  country  of  slavery  and 
tyrrany ;"  and  Malte  Brun  speaks  of  "the  arbitrary  sway 
of  the  ruffian  masters  of  Egypt.  Of  Ali  Bey  (who 
reigned  from  1766  to  1772)  it  has  been  said:  "Like  his 
predecessors,  he  considered  Egypt  as  his  private  property  or 
life  estate,  and  the  natives  as  the  live-stock  disposable  at  his 
pleasure"*  De  Leon  says  of  Abbas  Pasha  that  he  "was 
arbitrary,  rapacious,  and  cruel  to  the  last  degree."  To 
show  fully  how  strikingly  these  words,  "I  will  sell  the 
land  into  the  hand  of  the  wicked"  have  been  fulfilled, 
we  should  have  to  write  the  history  of  Egypt.  The  sum 
*"  Modern  Traveller— Egypt,"  I.   138. 


70  EGYPT. 

of  its  story  in  every  period  throughout  all  its  changes, 
from  the  prophet's  time  to  the  present,  is  rightly  told  in 
these  words  alone — the  land  has  been  sold  into  the  hand 
of  the  wicked.  We  name  a  few  facts.  The  first  governor 
of  Egypt  under  the  Roman  Empire,  Cornelius  Gallus,  was 
guilty  of  such  extortion  and  oppression  that  he  was  dis- 
graced, and  died  by  his  own  hand.  A  revolt  was  crushed 
by  Diocletian  in  286  with  remorseless  severity.  Alexan- 
dria surrendered  at  discretion,  but  was  shown  no  mercy. 
"  Many  thousands  of  the  citizens  perished  in  a  promis- 
cuous slaughter ;  and  there  were  few  obnoxious  persons 
in  Egypt  who  escaped  a  sentence  of  death,  or  at  least  of 
exile.  The  fate  of  Busiris  and  Coptos  was  still  more 
melancholy  than  that  of  Alexandria.  Those  proud  cities, 
the  former  distinguished  by  its  antiquity,  the  latter  en- 
riched by  the  passage  of  the  Indian  trade,  were  utterly 
destroyed  by  the  arms  and  by  the  severe  order  of  Diocle- 
tian. "  *  The  oppression  of  the  Greek  Empire  became  so 
intolerable  to  the  Egyptians  that  the  Arabs,  burning  though 
they  were  with  the  first  fervour  of  their  fierce  and  intolerant 
fanaticism,  were  everywhere  hailed  by  them  as  deliverers. 
For  a  short  time  it  seemed  as  if  a  change  had  been  made 
for  the  better.  But  it  was  impossible  that  the  Christianity 
of  Egypt  and  the  Mohammedanism  of  its  new  lords  could 
long  share  the  same  land  in  peace.  The  Egyptians,  per- 
secuted and  oppressed,  rose  in  insurrection,  and  were 
subdued  with  immense  bloodshed.  The  persecution  was 
continued  with  circumstances  of  grosser  outrage.  A  special 
tax  was  imposed  upon  the  monks,  and  as  each  one  paid  the 
tax  he  was  branded  upon  the  hand.  Any  monk,  who  was 
afterwards  unable  to  show  this  barbarous  tax-receipt,  had 
his  hand  cut  off.  Subsequently,  every  Copt  had  his  hand 
similarly  branded;  and  the  whole  community  was  so 
oppressed  that  another  rebellion  was  the  result,  which, 
like  the  former,  was  crushed  and  followed  by  another 
*  Gibbon. 


THE    CHARACTER    OF    ITS    MASTERS.  71 

terrible  persecution.  They  were  compelled  to  wear  a 
distinguishing  dress,  and  their  proud  spirits  were  borne 
down  under  other  marks  of  shame.  About  the  end  of  the 
tenth  century  they  were  made  to  wear,  suspended  from 
their  necks,  a  wooden  cross  of  five  pounds  weight,  and  to 
go  clothed  in  deep  black,  a  colour  peculiarly  odious  to  the 
Egyptian  Mohammedans.  In  the  beginning  of  the  four- 
teenth century  they  were  so  overwhelmed  by  Moslem 
hatred  that  multitudes  of  them,  wearied  of  a  hopeless 
struggle,  embraced  Mohammedanism.  The  small  remnant 
who  still  clung  to  Christianity,  though  now  less  oppressed, 
pay  a  heavier  tribute  than  is  imposed  upon  their  Moham- 
medan countrymen. 

But  those  who  apostatized  did  not  escape  from  their  evil 
destiny  by  the  simple  expedient  of  changing  their  religion. 
They  form  by  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  fellaheen,  the 
cultivators  of  the  soil,  and  these  "the  hand  of  the  wicked" 
has  long  held  in  its  savage  gripe,  and  is  even  now  wringing 
from  them  the  uttermost  farthing  of  their  meagre  gains. 
"How  is  agriculture  to  improve,"  Miss  Martineau  asks, 
"under  such  arrangements  as  the  following1? — The  culti- 
vator undertakes  to  till  a  certain  quantity  of  land,  all  the 
land,  it  is  understood,  being  the  Pasha's  property,  except 
such  as  he  pensions  or  gratifies  certain  parties  with.  The 
cultivator  engages,  in  return  for  being  furnished  with  all 
that  is  needed  for  its  cultivation,  to  hand  over  a  certain 
amount  (in  proportion  to  the  produce)  after  harvest.  Ho 
receives,  among  other  requisites,  an  order  for  a  good  and 
sufficient  quantity  of  seed-corn  from  the  government 
granary.  When  he  presents  the  order,  the  great  official 
gentleman  at  the  granary  directs  a  subordinate  officer  to 
supply  the  applicant  with  three-quarters  of  the  specified 
quantity,  he  retaining  the  other  quarter  for  his  own  fee. 
The  second  officer  subtracts  a  second  quarter;  and  the 
cultivator  sows  his  field  with  half  the  proper  seed  ! " 

Wilkinson  found  as  the  result    of   a   careful    calculation, 


72  EGYPT. 

that,  in  the  most  favourable  circumstances,  the  peasant  had 
only  two  and  two-fifth  farthings  a  day  on  which  to  support 
himself  and  his  family.*  The  consequence  is  that,  to  keep 
themselves  from  actual  starvation,  the  peasants  have  to 
convey  grain  secretly  from  the  fields  to  their  houses,  and 
have  thus,  while  labouring  with  their  hands  most  diligently, 
to  secure  their  bread  by  theft.  It  is  impossible  to  extort 
the  enormous  taxes  which  the  poor  fellaheen  have  to  pay 
without  the  torture  of  the  bastinado,  or  what  an  apologist 
for  the  government  of  Ismail  Pasha  gaily  calls  "stick 
logic."  f  But  it  is  not  government  oppression  alone  which 
shows  how  terribly  true  are  the  words,  "the  hand  of  the 
wicked,"  as  a  description  of  the  power  which  holds  this 
unhappy  country.  The  land  groans  under  the  ravages  of  a 
whole  army  of  plunderers.  "Every  Verres  is  enriched  by 
the  spoliation  of  the  peasant,  from  the  Mahmour  to  the 
Mukuddem,  or  beadle,  of  the  lowest  governor."  f  Lane 
says,  "  It  would  be  scarcely  possible  for  them  "  (the  peasants) 
"  to  suffer  more  and  live."  || 

We  know  how  unenviable  is  the  condition  of  the  Chris- 
tian peasant  under  Turkish  rule.  But,  comparing  him 
with  the  fellah  of  Egypt,  Sir  George  Campbell  says :  "If 
the  Bulgarian  were  content  to  be  a  political  slave  and  to 
submit  to  occasional  outrage,  he  might  have  been  in  many 
respects  tolerably  well  to  do.  Far  otherwise  is  the  lot  of 
the  Egyptian  fellah.  .  .  .  The  taxation  is  enormously 
higher;  the  methods  of  squeezing  more  severe;  the  per- 
sonal treatment  more  uniformly  degrading;  the  bastinado 
and  the  corvee  are  in  full  force.  If  a  man  has  anything 
he  dare  not  show  it,  and  the  very  beginnings  of  material 
improvement  are  thus  cut  off  to  the  fellah."  The  Kight 
Honourable  S.  Cave,  who  was  sent  out  by  our  Government 
to  inquire  into  Egyptian  finance,  endeavours  in  his  report, 

*  "  Modern  Egypt  and  Thebes,"  vol.  L,  p.  468. 
f  M'Coan,  "  Egypt  as  It  Is,"  p.  26. 

X  "Modern  Egypt  and  Thebes,"  vol.  L,  p.  469. 
||  "Modern  Egyptians,"  vol.  I.,  p.  178. 


THE    CHARACTER    OF    ITS    MASTERS.  73 

presented  in  1876,  to  account  for  the  corruption  which 
pervades  the  whole  administration.  "  From  the  pashas 
downwards,"  he  says,  "  every  office  is  a  tenancy  at  will ; 
and  experience  shows  that,  while  dishonesty  goes  wholly 
or  partially  unpunished,  independence  of  thought  and  action, 
resolution  to  do  one's  duty  and  to  resist  the  peculation 
and  neglect  which  pervade  every  department,  give  rise  to 
intrigues  which,  sooner  or  later,  bring  about  the  downfall  of 
honest  officials." 

Volumes  might  be  written  on  the  text,  "I  will  sell  the 
land  into  the  hand  of  the  wicked."  The  terrible  impress 
of  that  hand  is  visible  everywhere.  The  horrors  of  the 
conscription,  to  escape  which  parents  systematically  muti- 
late their  children,  and  of  the  corvees,  or  forced  labour 
levies  (in  which  the  peasants  are  driven  in  herds  from  their 
fields,  no  matter  though  the  harvest  is  wasted  on  which 
their  own  and  their  families'  bread  depends,  and  guarded 
by  the  military  like  convicts  till  their  enforced  task  is 
done),  are  well  known.  The  following  words  may  give  us 
some  conception  of  what  these  things  mean  for  the  people. 
"This  afternoon,"  writes  Lord  Haddo,  "we  witnessed  a 
distressing  scene.  Some  men  had  been  forcibly  impressed 
at  a  village,  and  were  lying  bound  in  the  boats  which  were 
to  convey  them  to  Cairo,  and  which,  the  wind  being  con- 
trary, were  slowly  hauled  along  the  shore,  while  the  wives 
and  mothers  of  the  men  from  whom  they  were  thus  separated 
for  life,  followed  howling  and  shrieking  for  many  miles." 
Attentions  were  paid  to  him  as  the  eldest  son  of  the  Premier 
of  England  (Lord  Aberdeen),  and  he  says :  "  The  worst  of  it 
is,  that  the  sheikh  of  each  village  is  ordered  to  come  down 
to  the  water  with  fifty  men  to  haul  the  boat  in  case  the 
wind  should  fail;  and  the  violence,  and  even  cruelty,  with 
which  the  unfortunate  fellahs  are  driven  from  their  fields 
with  the  sticks  and  whips  of  the  cavasses,  interferes  with 
my  enjoyment." 

Mehemet  Ali  in  one  of  his  instructions  to  the  provincial 


74 


EGYPT. 


governors  said  of  his  conscripts  :  "  Some  draw  their  teeth, 
some  put  out  their  eyes,  and  others  break  their  arms,  or 
otherwise  maim  themselves."  And  in  order  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  practice,  largely  indulged  in  by  Egyptian  mothers,  of 
putting  out  one  of  the  eyes  of  their  male  children  to  save 
them  from  the  conscription,  he  formed  a  one-eyed  regiment 
for  garrison  duty.  Were  any  consideration  or  care  shown 
for  the  soldiers,  military  service  could  not  possibly  be  the 
terror  it  is  to  the  fellaheen.  But  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
wicked  are  cruel.  The  spirit  in  which  the  people  are  treated 
may  be  understood  from  the  following  extracts  from  the 
work  of  Mr.  Villiers  Stuart,  which  is  in  substance  a  govern- 
ment report,  and  which  we  may  therefore  accept  as  written 
calmly  and  after  due  investigation.  He  found  40,000  men 
making  a  canal  in  Upper  Egypt  to  irrigate  the  lands  of 
some  rich  Pashas.  No  food  was  supplied  to  them,  nor  was 
sleeping  or  other  accommodation  provided,  nor  tools  with 
which  to  do  the  work  of  excavation.  They  worked  from 
sunrise  to  sunset,  with  no  intermission  save  the  few  moments 
during  which  they  rushed  down  to  the  river  to  soak  the 
hard  bread,  their  only  food,  which  their  friends  had  sent 
from  their  distant  homes.  The  great  majority  of  them  had 
to  tear  up  the  soil  and  stones  and  to  fill  their  baskets  with 
their  hands.  He  adds  :  "  Ophthalmia  is  one  evil  that  re- 
sults ;  I  cannot  imagine  a  better  recipe  for  the  wholesale 
manufacture  of  this  malady  than  to  work  men  to  exhaustion 
in  fiery  heat,  glare,  and  dust  all  day,  and  then  to  expose 
them  at  night  to  the  heavy  dew  and  frosty  temperature, 
with  the  bare  ground  for  their  couch,  and  their  calico  rags 
for  their  only  covering."  * 

"Forced  labour  in  the  factories  has  been  abolished  on 
paper,  but  in  Upper  Egypt  it  is  still  in  full  swing."  f  There 
the  fellahs  are  subjected  to  the  hardest  slavery.  Guards 
are  placed  at  the  doors  who  prevent  all  egress  and  the 
labourers  are  kept  in  the  building  day  and  night,  being 
*  "Egypt  After  the  War,"  288.     t  ibid.  319. 


THE    CHARACTER    OF    ITS    MASTERS.  75 

compelled  to  sleep  on  the  stone  floor  and  amid  the  noise  of 
the  machinery.  "In  1879  we  were  witnesses  of  the  following 
incident  at  one  of  the  sugar  factories.  While  we  were  there 
there  was  a  sudden  commotion,  and  we  found  that  one  of 
the  men  had  fallen  from  a  gallery  and  was  mortally  injured ; 
he  was  carried  out  in  a  dying  state.  On  emerging  we 
inquired  for  him,  and  were  shocked  to  find  him  lying  in  the 
sun  and  covered  with  flies — left  there  to  die  like  a  dog.  No 
man  had  had  the  charity  to  moisten  his  lips  or  to  carry  him 
into  the  shade,  or  to  fan  the  flies  away,  or  to  alleviate  his 
sufferings  in  'any  way."  * 

On  some  of  the  corvees,  not  only  able-bodied  men  are 
compelled  to  toil,  but  even  "small  children,  boys  and  girls 
as  young  as  seven  or  eight  years,"  who  are  kept  "walking- 
all  day  up  and  down  the  banks  with  their  baskets  of  earth."  f 
As  showing  further  the  character  of  those  into  whose  hands 
Egypt  has  been  sold  we  may  note  that  under  the  present 
dynasty,  which  has  been  lauded  as  having  done  so  much  for 
the  country,  the  wretched  fellaheen  have  been  subjected  to 
repeated  acts  of  spoliation.  At  Thebes  the  Government 
took  part  of  the  land  arbitrarily  at  £7  an  acre,  and  relet  it 
at  more  than  a  third  of  that  sum  annually.  The  consequence 
has  been  that  the  people  there  have  been  plunged  into 
poverty.  Some  of  them  have  rented  portions  from  the 
Government,  but  "it  too  often  happens  that  after  digging 
and  sowing  the  land  they  in  the  end  get  no  reward  but  a 
beating."|  We  have  heard  much  in  connection  with  the 
debt  of  the  Daira  lands — the  property  of  the  state,  and  the 
private  property  of  the  late  Khedive.  They  are  simply  the 
fruit  of  the  most  unblushing  and  unscrupulous  robbery. 
"Both  of  them,"  says  Mr.  Villiers  Stuart,  "represent  an 
enormous  amount  of  injustice,  tyranny,  and  oppression."  || 

"  Like  master,  like  man."  The  example  of  those  in  high 
places   has   been    only   too    closely   followed    by   their   sub- 

*  ibid.  319,  320.       t  De  Leon,  "The  Khedive's  Egypt,"  214. 
t  "Egypt  After  the  War,"  306.  If  ibid.  306. 


7  O  EGYPT. 

ordinate*.  "During  this  portion  of  my  tour,"  says  Mr. 
Stuart,  "I  happened  to  be  witness  of  an  incident  which  is 
highly  instructive,  and  serves  as  a  typical  instance  of  the 
behaviour  of  the  subordinate  officials  towards  the  rank  and 
file  of  the  people.  As  I  passed,  a  gang  of  men  in  chains, 
probably  for  non-payment  of  taxes,  were  drawn  up  in  front 
of  the  Post  Office.  One  of  these  presented  a  docket  to  the 
postmaster.  He  answered  roughly,  "You  have  had  your 
letter."  At  the  same  time  he  tore  up  the  docket  and  threw 
it  out  of  the  window.  I  took  up  the  torn  pieces  and  found 
that  they  were  a  warrant  for  the  delivery  of  a  registered 
letter.  I  asked  the  postmaster  how  it  came  that  if  the  man 
had  received  his  letter  he  had  been  allowed  to  retain  the 
voucher.  The  postmaster,  seeing  that  I  was  disposed  not 
to  let  the  matter  drop,  now  changed  his  tone  and  said  to  the 
claimant,  'If  you  will  get  two  respectable  townspeople  to 
certify  your  identity,  you  shall  have  your  letter.'  It  appeared, 
therefore,  that  his  first  assertion  that  the  man  had  received 
his  letter  was  a  positive  falsehood.  This  incident  furnishes 
one  more  illustration  of  how  corrupt  and  dishonest  the  official 
classes  are,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest."  * 

Even  the  courts  of  justice,  where  the  oppressed  might 
plead  their  cause,  are  simply  additional  instruments  of  ex- 
tortion and  wrong.  "It  is  bad  enough  in  any  country  to 
be  occupied  in  lawsuits ;  but  nowhere  does  a  poor  man 
find  so  much  difficulty  in  obtaining  justice  as  in  Egypt. 
He  is  not  only  put  off  from  day  to  day,  but  obliged  to  run 
from  one  person  to  another,  to  no  purpose,  for  days,  weeks, 
or  months ;  and  unless  he  can  manage  to  collect  sufficient 
to  bribe  the  bash-kateb  and  other  employes  of  the  court,  he 
may  hope  in  vain  to  obtain  justice,  or  even  attention  to 
his  complaints."!  The  spirit  of  high-handed  and  cruel 
mastery  marks  the  procedure  of  all  the  tribunals.  "  Crimi- 
nal cases  are  dealt  with  by  the  Mahmours  and  Mudirs  in 

*  ibid.  261,  262. 
t  Wilkinson;   "Murray's  Handbook  of  Egypt,"  p.   156. 


THE    CHARACTER    OF    ITS    MASTERS.  77 

despotic  and  arbitrary  fashion;  the  use  of  the  'courbash' 
(hippopotamus-hide  whip)  and  of  the  stick  has  increased 
since  the  rebellion,  as  also  imprisonment  in  heavy  chains. 
These  punishments  often  fall  upon  the  innocent  •  for 
instance,  if  a  fellah,  selected  for  military  service,  runs  away 
to  the  desert,  his  relatives  are  chained  and  thrown  into 
prison,  although  in  no  way  accessory  to  the  offence."* 

"  How  is  justice,"  Mr.  Villiers  Stuart  asks  an  intelligent 
farmer,  "administered  in  your  district  ?  It  is  all  by  bribery; 
a  poor  man  has  no  chance.  If  he  is  wronged,  if  it  is  a 
small  debt,  or  if  he  has  been  maltreated,  or  beaten,  or 
robbed,  there  is  a  small  local  tribunal,  the  constable  of  the 
village  reports  the  case  to  the  Mahmour,  who  if  he  deems 
it  sufficiently  important  reports  it  to  the  Mudir.  If  it  is  a 
land  dispute,  e.g.,  about  boundaries  or  successions,  it  goes 
to  Tantah;  three  or  four  years,  or  five  years  may  elapse 
before  it  is  settled.  If  he  has  a  buffalo  or  a  cow,  he  must 
sell  it  to  make  presents  for  chief  clerks  and  their  subordi- 
nates and  even  high  officials.  He  is  soon  ruined.  In  other 
cases  which  are  reported  to  the  Mahmour,  and  by  the 
Mahmour  to  the  Mudir,  the  man  who  can  afford  to  bribe 
the  highest  gets  the  most  favourable  reports."  f 

This  corruption  taints  the  entire  official  body.  The 
Mudirs  and  Mahmours  are  removed  with  every  change  of 
ministry.  And  hence  "  they  only  try,"  says  Mr.  Stuart,  "  to 
make  the  most  of  their  opportunity  and  to  enrich  them- 
selves as  fast  as  they  can  during  their  precarious  term  of 
office.  I  have  known  Egypt  for  many  years,  and  I  fear  I 
must  come  to  the  conclusion  that  venality  and  corruption 
are  so  universal,  so  ingrained  in  the  social  fabric,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest"  that  he  believes  the  only  hope  of 
Egypt  lies  in  having  an  entirely  new  set  of  officials,  and 
Englishmen  if  possible,  t  Nor  is  this  all.  "  Egyptian 
prisons    are    Bastilles    in    which    men    in    power    immure 

*  "Egypt  after  the  War,"  p.   158.  +  ibid.  21,  22. 

X  ibid.   158,  159. 


78  EGYPT. 

arbitrarily  those  who  have  offended  them,  or  whom  they 
have  any  motive  in  getting  out  of  the  way.  They  are 
sent  there  without  trial  or  enquiry  under  lettres  de  cachet; 
and  there  they  may  remain  for  years,  forgotten  perhaps  by 
the  tyrant  who  sent  them  thither,  and  without  means  or 
opportunity  of  bringing  their  case  to  the  notice  of  those 
who  might  obtain  tardy  justice  and  release  for  them."  * 

The  masters  of  Egypt  have  been  increased  within  our 
own  times.  We  know  what  the  bondholders  are,  and 
whether  the  terms  on  which  the  loans  were  advanced,  or 
the  demands  which  are  to-day  insisted  upon,  deserve  the 
epithet  which  Scripture  has  applied  to  the  other  lords  of 
this  unhappy  people.  But  the  land  has  been  of  late  years 
covered  with  a  flood  of  usurers,  and  between  them  and  the 
bondholders  the  very  heart's  blood  of  the  people  is  being 
wrung  out.  The  debt  of  the  fellahs  is  estimated  to  amount 
to  two-thirds  of  the  national  debt,  "  and  upon  this  vast  sum 
interest,  varying  from  3  to  5,  8  and  even  10  per  cent,  per 
month  is  either  paid  or  is  accumulating,  and  increasing  the 
indebtedness  at  an  alarming  rate,"  The  fellahs,  unable  to 
meet  their  debts,  are  being  deprived  of  their  land.  "A 
rapid  process  of  transfer  is  taking  place  of  the  property, 
i.e.,  the  land,  of  the  native  Egyptians  to  Greeks,  and 
Syrians,  and  other  Christian  (!)  usurers."!  These  usurers 
are  as  unscrupulous  as  the  rest  into  whose  hands  this  people 
have  been  sold,  and  we,  as  a  nation,  have  unfortunately 
and  unwittingly  played  into  the  usurers'  hands.  It  was  the 
custom  of  Egypt  that  no  land  could  be  seized  for  debt, 
and  this  was  one  excuse  for  the  exorbitant  interest,  some- 
times amounting  to  130  per  cent,  per  annum.  But  we  have 
been  accessory  to  the  change  which  removed  this  last 
barrier  which  stood  between  the  fellahs  and  spoliation. 
"We  have  converted  these  ill-secured  debts  into  first-class 
land  mortgages.  Arabi  drove  out  these  pauperizers  of  the 
people,  but  we  have  brought  them  back  by  force  of  arms."  { 
*  ibid.  42.  f  ibid.  39,  41.  %  ibid.  60. 


THE    CHARACTER    OF    ITS    MASTERS.  79 

Mr.  Stuart  thus  describes  the  palaces  of  these  Egyptian 
Shylocks.  "Just  outside  many  of  the  Delta  villages  may 
be  observed  a  superior  house  built  in  European  style  :  the 
Avails  stained  cream  colour,  or  pale  blue,  or  rose  pink,  with 
bright  green  Venetian  blinds ;  a  great  improvement  on  the 
raw  mud-brick  structures  which  form  the  staple  of  native 
dwellings.  These  edifices  will  always  be  found  on  enquiry 
to  belong  to  the  local  money-lender — Greek,  Syrian,  Arme- 
nian, or  Jewish.  He  is  sure  to  plant  himself  wherever  the 
soil  is  extra  fertile,  and  the  neighbourhood  extra  advan- 
tageous." *  He  visited  one,  and  found  it  "  fitted  up  with 
European  furniture  and  French  mirrors."  "Everything 
around  betokened  prosperity  and  abundance.  .  .  .  There 
could  scarcely  be  a  more  striking  contrast  than  the  condi- 
tions presented  by  the  neighbouring  village."  The  villagers 
informed  him  that  all  the  usurer's  lands  had  belonged  to 
them.  He  adds,  "It  had  now  come  to  this  that  while  the 
foreign  usurer  had  become  a  wealthy  landed  proprietor,  not 
one  of  the  natives  had  more  than  a  dozen  acres  left.  .  .  . 
I  took  a  sad  and  sympathetic  leave  of  the  poor  fellows  : 
decidedly  that  was  not  a  flourishing  community.  That 
Christian  establishment  close  by  was  sucking  out  their  very 
life-blood,  like  a  tumour  or  a  wen,  which  draws  to  itself 
the  juices  of  the  whole  body  until  all  is  exhausted.  The 
time  could  not  be  far  off  when  every  peasant  proprietor 
there  will  be  reduced  to  the  position  of  a  labourer  on  the 
Greek's  all-devouring  estate.  The  process  of  adding  house 
to  house  and  field  to  field  .  .  .  has  been  brought  into 
vigorous  life  in  Egypt  of  late  years  by  the  operation  of  the 
International  Tribunals.  No  feature  of  the  social  condition 
of  the  Delta  forced  itself  more  prominently  on  my  notice 
throughout  my  tour  of  inquiry  in  its  provinces,  than  this 
question  of  the  indebtedness  of  the  fellahs  in  connection 
with  the  new  tribunals;  and  I  may  as  well  take  this  oppor- 
tunity of  summing  up  the  conclusions  it  forced  upon  me. 
*ibkl  54. 


80  EGYPT. 

"All  the  witnesses  agreed  that  the  usurers — Greek, 
Syrian,  and  Jewish — have  been  the  main  cause  of  the 
hatred  with  which  the  Christians  were  regarded  during  the 
rebellion  of  Arabi ;  that  they  have  dealt  most  mercilessly 
with  the  fellahs,  entangling  them  in  a  hopeless  net  of  in- 
debtedness, and  using  their  power  to  possess  themselves 
of  their  lands.  .  .  .  They  have  woven  round  them  a 
tangled  network  of  debt  which  no  Colenso  could  unravel — ■ 
the  moderate  sum  originally  advanced,  compound  interest 
at  exorbitant  rates,  sums  advanced  successively  since,  with 
their  interests,  the  reckoning  further  complicated  by  sums 
paid  on  account,  no  receipts  being  given.  The  fellahs 
have  long  ago  abandoned  in  despair  the  task  of  compre- 
hending their  financial  position,  with  its  hopeless  intricacies, 
and  only  feel  that  they  have  nothing  which  they  can  call 
their  own."* 

Everywhere  there  is  the  same  unscrupulous  rapacity,  the 
same  disregard  of  right  and  justice,  which  show  how  mar- 
vellous are  these  words,  "  I  will  sell  the  land  into  the  hand 
of  the  wicked."  Take  them  simply  as  a  description.  Are 
there  any  other  words  that  can  so  clearly  mirror  the  condi- 
tion of  this  unhappy  land,  and  that  will  state  it  with  such 
brevity  yet  fullness,  with  such  deep  insight  and  pathos? 
As  a  description  it  is  marvellous ;  but  what  shall  we  say  of 
it  as  a  prophecy1? 

But  not  only  is  the  character  of   the  masters  of   Egypt 

foretold ; 

THEIR    NATIONALITY 

is  also  strictly  defined;  "I  will  make  the  land  waste  and  all 
that  is  therein  by  the  hand  of 

STRANGERS" 

(Ezek.  xxx.   12).     It  might  be  supposed  that  this  is  merely 

a  re-statement  of  the  prediction  which  declared  that  there 

*  ibid.  55,  57. 


THE    NATIONALITY    OF    ITS    MASTERS.  81 

should  no  more  be  a  native  prince  upon  the  throne  of 
Egypt.  But  it  really  carries  us  further.  The  latter  prophecy 
would  have  been  fulfilled  had  one  race — the  Persians,  or 
the  Greeks,  for  example — continued  age  after  age  to  lord  it 
over  Egypt.  It  is  intimated  now,  however,  that  they  will 
know  the  mastery  of  more  than  one  people.  The  inherit- 
ance will  pass  from  race  to  race  who,  all  of  them,  will  stand 
in  this  relationship  of  strangers  to  the  people  over  whom 
they  exercise  their  cruel  mastery.  We  have  only  to  call 
to  mind  the  well-known  antipathy  of  the  Egyptians  to 
foreigners,  the  contempt  in  which  they  held  them,  and  their 
treatment  of  their  captives  in  compelling  them  to  toil  under 
the  lash  of  the  taskmaster  upon  their  public  works,  to  see 
the  fitness  of  the  doom.  They  boasted  that  upon  their 
mighty  monuments  no  Egyptian  had  laboured ;  and  now  it 
is  foretold  that  by  the  hand  of  races,  such  as  they  had 
loathed  and  despised  and  enslaved,  they  themselves  will  be 
judged  for  their  cruelty  and  pride. 

When  we  turn  from  the  prophecy  which  says  who  Egypt's 
masters  will  be,  and  ask  of  history  who  they  have  been,  we 
are  answered  in  the  very  words  of  Scripture.  They  have 
been  strangers.  The  Persians  were  succeeded  by  the  Mace- 
donians, these  by  the  Romans,  and  latterly  by  the  Greeks 
of  the  Eastern  Empire.  The  Empire  fell,  in  Egypt  and  the 
East,  before  the  Arabian  Caliphs.  "About  the  year  887, 
the  power  of  the  caliphs  was  succeeded  by  the  reign  of  the 
Turcomans,  their  own  janizaries,  whom  they  had  called  to 
their  aid.  The  dynasties  of  the  Tolonides,  the  Fatimites, 
and  the  Aioobites,  ruled  over  Egypt  till  the  year  1250.  The 
Mamelukes,  or  military  slaves  of  the  Turcoman  sultans  of 
Egypt,  then  massacred  their  masters  and  took  possession 
of  the  sovereignty.  The  Turkish  dynasty,  or  that  of  the 
Bassarite  Mamelukes,  reigned  till  1382.  The  Circassian 
race,  or  that  of  the  Bordjite  Mamelukes,  ruled  here  till 
within  these  very  few  years.  ...  In  1798  the  French 
abolished  the  Mameluke  aristocracy,   and  made  themselves 

F 


82  EGYPT. 

masters  of  the  whole  of  Egypt."  *  After  two  short  years 
the  French  retired,  when  the  Mamelukes  strove  for  the 
sovereignty  with  the  Turks  of  Constantinople  by  intrigue 
and  assassination.  Mehemet  Ali  foiled  both  with  their 
own  weapons  and  founded  the  present  dynasty.  An  Alba- 
nian Turk  and  a  soldier  of  fortune,  he  entered  Egypt 
in  command  of  300  men,  sent  from  his  native  town  to  assist 
in  expelling  the  French  from  Egypt,  and,  step  by  step, 
through  wiles  and  blood,  he  fought  his  way  to  the  throne. 
And  not  only  is  it  true  that  foreigners  have  filled  the  throne, 
they  have  held  almost  every  office  of  emolument  and  trust. 
Mehemet  Ali  among  his  many  reforms  attempted  to  change 
this  practice.  He  appointed  native  governors  "with  the 
very  liberal  intention  of  allowing  the  peasants  to  be  ruled 
by  their  compatriots,  instead  of  the  more  humiliating  custom 
of  subjecting  them  to  foreigners."  f  The  change  had  con- 
tinued for  only  five  years,  when  it  was  "found  necessary 
to  return  to  the  old  system";  and  to-day  it  is  as  true  as 
ever  that  the  country  is  in  the  hands  of  "strangers." 
The  last  point  we  name  is 

THE    WORK    OF    EGYPT'S    MASTERS. 

"  I  will  make  the  land  ivaste  and  all  that  is  therein  by  the 
hands  of  strangers"  (Ezek.  xxx.  12).  The  desolation, 
which  we  have  already  seen  was  to  fall,  might  have  come 
in  many  ways.  It  might  have  sprung  from  causes  over 
which  man  had  no  control,  and  it  might  have  fallen  in  spite 
of  the  best  efforts  of  the  foreign  successors  of  the  Pharaohs. 
But  here  the  story  of  the  desolation  is  fully  told.  It  will 
be  the  result  of  long  and  increasing  oppression.  It  will 
not  happen  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  these  strangers :  it  is 
the  work  for  which  they  are  to  come,  and,  when  they  have 
passed  away,  this  will  remain  as  the  token  they  have  been. 
Egypt's  native  rulers  were  remembered  by  the  advancement 
of  their  country's  weal,  and  by  public  works  and  monuments 
*  Malte  Brun.  t  Wilkinson. 


THE   WOKK    OF    ITS    MASTERS.  S3 

which  filled  the  breast  of  posterity  with  a  noble  pride  and 
emulation  :  but  the  memorial  of  these  new  masters  will  be 
waste  and  deepening  desolation. 

Has  the  work  been  done?  Is  the  desolation  of  Egypt 
distinctly  traceable  to  the  strangers  1  From  every  side 
witnesses  arise  which  testify  to  the  truth  of  the  prediction. 
The  strangers  have  wasted  the  land.  I  have  already  referred 
to  the  neglect  of  the  canals.  The  revenues  which  ought  to 
have  been,  and  which  would  have  been  but  for  the  most 
unprincipled  voracity,  applied  to  their  maintenance  have 
been  withheld,  and  what  might  have  been  fruitful  fields 
have  become  a  desert.  Wilkinson  calculates  that  more 
than  2,000  square  miles,  which  are  irrigated — that  is,  about 
one  half  of  the  whole  cultivable  land  of  Egypt,  is  left  un- 
tilled.  And  other  strangers  than  its  masters  have  aided  in 
the  work  of  destruction.  In  1801  the  English,  in  order  to 
protect  their  camp  from  an  attack  by  the  French,  cut  through 
the  embankment  between  the  Bay  of  Aboukir  and  the  basin 
of  the  former  Lake  Mareotis,  and  the  salt  waters  now  roll 
over  forty  villages  and  the  cultivated  lands  which  surrounded 
them. 

The  people  have  been  wasted.  Clot  Bey,  writing  in  1840, 
calculates  that  one  half  the  population  has  perished  since 
the  time  of  the  Persian  conquest.  There  is  no  reason 
whatever,  save  the  continued  oppression  of  the  people,  why 
the  population  should  not  even  now  spread  out  to  its  ancient 
dimensions.  Were  all  the  land  cultivated,  which  can  still 
be  sown,  the  produce  would  be  sufficient  to  maintain  a 
population  of  8,000,000 — more  than  twice  the  number  of 
the  present  inhabitants.  The  people  do  not  perish,  there- 
fore, for  lack  of  room;  their  decrease  is  not  simply  the 
consequence  of  the  lands  being  wasted.  It  is  wrought  by 
the  hand  of  the  strangers.  The  villages  are  depopulated 
first  of  all  by  the  conscription.  Lane  calculated  that,  under 
Mehemet  Ali,  every  second  man  out  of  the  whole  number 
fit  for  military  service  was  taken  for  the  army  and  navy; 


84  EGYPT. 

and  M'Coan  admits  that  the  conscription  is  still  out  of  all 
proportion  to  the  military  necessities  of  the  country,  and  a 
serious  hindrance  to  the  progress  of  agriculture.  Another 
cause  of  the  decrease  is  the  corvee — compulsory  labour 
upon  public  works,  and  on  the  estates  of  the  Khedive  and 
others  whose  demands  the  poor  fellaheen  can  neither  resist 
nor  gainsay.  Some  notion  of  what  this  means  for  the 
peasant  may  be  gained  from  the  story  of  the  Mahmoudieh 
canal,  as  told  by  Mr.  Stuart.  "The  important  waterway 
between  the  Nile  and  Egypt's  greatest  sea-port  has  a  sad 
history,  and  furnishes  a  terrible  illustration  of  the  abuses  to 
which  the  corvee  is  liable.  It  was  constructed  entirely  by 
forced  labour,  and  the  sacrifice  of  life  was  frightful ;  those 
who  perished  were  buried  in  the  embankment  as  the  work 
progressed.  Mehemet  Ali  had  commanded  all  the  sheiks 
in  the  Delta  to  bring  the  flower  of  the  population  from 
their  villages  for  the  work  of  excavating  a  waterway  from 
the  Nile  to  Alexandria.  In  obedience  to  this  call  313,000 
persons  were  assembled  along  its  future  course,  i.e.,  at  the 
rate  of  7,825  per  mile.  But  the  Government  had,  as  usual 
with  forced  labour,  provided  neither  food  nor  tools ;  the 
poor  wretches  had  to  dig  out  the  canal  with  their  fingers, 
and  to  remove  the  soil  in  baskets  provided  by  themselves. 
As  the  work  progressed,  and  they  got  below  the  level  of 
Lake  Mareotis  the  water  oozed  in,  and  they  toiled  in  fetid 
mud.  They  were  kept  at  the  work  by  soldiers  who  lined 
the  banks  with  bayonets  fixed;  they  had  no  respite  from 
sunrise  to  sunset,  and  they  lay  in  their  cotton  rags  on  the 
banks  from  sunset  to  sunrise,  half-starved,  maltreated,  with 
festering  fingers,  and  fever-stricken  frames.  The  tyrant's 
commands  were  urgent;  in  ten  months  his  wishes  were 
accomplished,  and  a  canal,  40  miles  long  and  200  feet  wide, 
was  excavated  with  men's  hands,  but  23,000  of  the  poor 
wretches  perished  in  that  time  from  exhaustion  and  the 
cruelty  of  their  taskmasters,  and  were  covered  up  in  the 
mud  of  the  embankments.     If  placed  lengthways  along  its 


THE    WORK    OF    ITS    MASTERS.  85 

course  there  would  be  throughout  the  route  but  an  interval 
of  2  yards  between  the  feet  of  one  corpse  and  the  skull  of 
the  next — a  grim  line  of  sentinels. 

"  I  once  travelled  by  boat  through  the  Mahmoudieh  canal 
from  Alexandria  to  Atfeh,  a  distance  of  forty  miles,  but 
during  the  entire  trip  I  could  not  divest  myself  of  the  feeling 
that  I  was  between  walls  into  which  the  bodies  of  23,000 
human  beings  had  been  built.  As  I  sailed  along,  the  banks 
seemed  to  my  mind  to  grow  transparent,  and  I  saw  nothing 
but  those  miles  of  skeletons,  awful  trophies  of  tyranny  and 
cruelty  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  human  suffering  and  misery 
on  the  other."  * 

The  resources  of  the  country  have  been  wasted.  We  have 
seen  that  its  skilled  industries  have  gone.  All  attempts 
to  revive  them  have  failed.  The  wealth  of  the  country  has 
disappeared,  and  in  its  stead  there  stands  a  liability  which 
it  is  utterly  unable  to  discharge.  Ismail  Pasha  found  the 
finances  burdened  with  a  small  debt  of  about  three  millions 
and  a  quarter.  It  soon  swelled  to  the  enormous  amount 
of  more  than  91  millions.  The  history  of  the  loans  reveals 
the  terrible  recklessness  of  the  "  strangers."  None  of  them 
were  negotiated  for  less  than  12  per  cent.,  and  the  railway 
loan  with  its  sinking  fund  cost  more  than  29.  As  much  as 
36  per  cent  per  annum  has  been  paid  for  the  renewal  of 
bills.  Out  of  five  loans,  amounting  in  nominal  value  to 
nearly  56  millions,  only  35  millions  reached  the  Egyptian 
Treasury.  Mr.  Cave  reports  that  on  this  amount  the 
Egyptian  Government  had  paid,  by  the  end  of  1875,  in 
interest   and    sinking    funds    nearly    30    millions,    and   that 

notwithstanding   these  huge  payments  nearly  47  millions 

that  is,   12  millions  more  than    the    Government  originally 
received — remained  to  be  redeemed. 

If  we  ask  how  the  money  has  been  expended,  we  merely 
open   another   chapter   in   the   story   of    the    "waste."     Of 
"the  barrage"  a  scheme  for  damming  up  the  Nile,  which 
*  "Egypt  after  the  War,"  108,  109. 


86  EGYPT. 

cost  three  millions,  and,  which  has  been  in  process  from 
the  days  of  Mehemet  Ali  to  our  time,  Mr.  Stuart  says : 
"Instead  of  traversing  the  stream  higher  up  where  it  is 
confined  within  a  single  channel,  the  (French)  engineers 
had  chosen  a  site  below  the  point  at  which  the  mighty 
flood  divides,  thus  augmenting  the  expense  of  construction 
and  ensuring  heavier  commissions  and  percentages.  .  .  . 
The  costly  structure  is  more  picturesque  than  useful;  the 
foundations  are  not  deep  enough  to  withstand  the  enor- 
mous pressure  of  the  waters  when  the  sluices  are  closed, 
and  consequently  it  has  served  to  irrigate  the  contractors' 
pockets  more  than  anything  else."* 

And  that  which  is  more  precious  than  land,  or  skill,  or 
wealth — the  patriotism,  the  national  sentiment  of  the 
people,  has  also  been  wasted.  I  place  two  statements 
together.  Of  the  Egyptians  as  they  entered  upon  their  long 
ordeal  of  suffering  Wilkinson  says  : — "  Though  far  better 
pleased  with  the  rule  of  the  Macedonian  kings  than  of  the 
Persians,  the  Egyptians  were  never  thoroughly  satisfied  to 
be  subject  to  foreigners.  ...  To  the  Romans  they 
were  equally  troublesome.  .  .  .  Proud  of  the  former 
greatness  of  their  nation  they  could  never  get  over  the 
disgrace  of  their  fallen  condition  ;  and,  so  strong  was  their 
bias  towards  their  own  institutions  and  ancient  form  of 
government,  that  no  foreign  king,  whose  habits  differed 
from  their  own,  could  reconcile  them  to  his  rule.  For  no 
people  were  more  attached  to  their  own  country,  to  their 
own  peculiar  institutions,  and  to  their  own  reputation  as  a 
nation."  f  Such  was  the  Egyptian  of  the  Persian,  the  Mace- 
donian and  even  of  the  Roman  occupation.  With  that  picture 
compare  the  following  of  the  Egypt  of  to-day.  "I  have 
not  been  able  to  discover  any  trace  whatever  of  Nationalism. 
Arabi  did  not  attempt  to  appeal  to  any  such  sentiment; 
it  would  not  have  been  understood.  ...  I  came  out 
to  Egypt  sanguine  as  to  the  possibility  of  establishing 
*  ibid.  15.      f  "  The  Ancient  Egyptians,"  vol.  L,  310. 


THE    WORK    OF    ITS    MASTERS.  87 

representative  institutions  upon  a  popular  basis,  but  a  care- 
ful and  anxious  inquiry  into  the  actual  state  of  feeling,  into 
the  political  elements,  into  the  fitness  of  the  great  bulk  of 
the  people,  and  as  to  any  wish  that  may  exist  among  them 
to  possess  them,  has  satisfied  me  that  an  interval  of  reformed 
administration  must  elapse  before  such  a  change  could  be 
either  prudently  or  successfully  carried  out."  * 

There  is  light  beyond  the  darkness  for  Egypt.  The  Lord 
is  smiting  that  He  may  heal.  He  has  brought  them  low,  He 
may  yet  bring  them  lower  ;  for  it  stands  written  "  They  shall 
cry  unto  the  Lord  because  of  the  oppressors."  But  He 
humbles  that  He  may  in  clue  time  exalt  them.  "  He  shall 
send  them  a  Saviour  and  a  defender,  and  he  shall  deliver 
them.  And  the  Lord  shall  be  known  to  Egypt,  and  the 
Egyptians  shall  know  the  Lord  in  that  day.  ...  In  that 
day  shall  Israel  be  the  third  with  Egypt  and  with  Assyria,  a 
blessing  in  the  midst  of  the  earth  :  for  that  the  Lord  of  hosts 
hath  blessed  them  saying,  Blessed  be  Egypt  my  people,  and 
Assyria  the  work  of  my  hands,  and  Israel  mine  inheritance  " 
(Isaiah  xix.  20-25). 

But  the  point  before  us  now  is  this.  We  have  viewed  in 
its  length  and  breadth  this  prophetic  picture  of  the  Egypt  of 
the  present.  We  have  tested  it  in  its  minute  details.  We 
have  taken  them  one  after  another,  five  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  eleven  in  this.  We  have  laid  down  each  with  the 
same  feeling  of  astonishment.  The  fate  of  Egypt's  two 
ancient  capitals  is  described  and  discriminated.  Thebes  is  to 
be  "broken,"  to  be  "rent  asunder."  The  idols  of  Memphis 
are  to  be  destroyed,  its  images  are  to  cease.  And  for  nineteen 
centuries  Thebes  has  continued  in  fragments,  while  Memphis 
has  perished.  The  temples  and  images  of  Thebes  remain ; 
those  of  Memphis  have  disappeared.  The  earlier  capital  still 
attracts  the  traveller,  and  still  affords  a  shelter  to  the  children 
of  the  soil :  the  later  capital  has  neither  inhabitant  nor 
memorial.  And  as  it  is  with  the  capitals  so  is  it  with  the 
*  "  Egypt  after  the  War,"  298,  299. 


88  EGYPT. 

country  and  the  people.  It  was  declared  that  from  the  time 
of  the  Babylonian  conquest  Egypt's  story  should  be  a  story 
of  decay ;  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  hour  the  career 
of  loss  and  degradation  has  continued.  Notwithstanding  all 
our  efforts  as  a  nation  it  is  not  arrested  even  now.  Egypt 
was  still,  however,  to  be  preserved,  to  continue  as  a  kingdom 
though  the  basest  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth.  Her  degra- 
dation was  to  be  marked  in  another  way :  she  was  never 
again  to  have  a  native  ruler.  A  blight  was  also  to  settle 
upon  the  land.  The  rivers  and  the  canals  were  to  be  dried 
up.  The  papyrus  reeds  and  the  verdure  of  the  river  banks 
were  to  be  swept  away.  The  fisheries,  one  of  the  chief 
sources  of  the  people's  food,  were  to  fail;  the  industries, 
which  were  Egypt's  glory  and  the  fountain  of  her  wealth, 
were  to  perish.  She  herself  was  to  be  a  desolation  in  the 
midst  of  desolations,  and  her  cities  were  to  be  in  the  midst  of 
cities  that  are  wasted.  The  instruments  of  her  degradation 
and  her  misery  were  described.  She  was  to  be  the  prey  of  a 
rapacious,  cruel,  and  foreign  mastery.  She  was  to  be  sold 
into  the  hand  of  the  wicked  :  the  land  and  all  that  is  therein 
was  to  be  made  waste  by  strangers.  Whose  eye  saw  these 
things  %  Whose  word  declared  them  ?  One  prediction  might 
have  been  fulfilled  by  some  happy  chance,  and,  perhaps,  a 
second ;  but  what  of  all  these  1  Can  the  thought  that  their 
fulfilment  is  due  to  accident  be  entertained  for  a  moment  ? 
And  if  net,  whose  is  the  book  on  which  this  seal  is  set  ?  Is 
it  man's  book,  or  His  "in  whose  hand  thy  breath  is,  and 
whose  are  all  thy  ways  ? " 


CHAPTER  VI. 


IDUMEA  AND  THE  SEA  COAST  OF  PALESTINE. 


HE  SEEKER  AFTER  certainty  in  religion  will  be 
grateful  for  the  multiplicity,  as  well  as  for  the  minute- 
ness and  distinctness,  of  Scripture  prophecy.  One 
or  two  lights  in  a  chamber  may  not  entirely  sweep  away 
its  gloom.  But  the  remedy  is  simple.  The  lights  have 
only  to  be  multiplied  and  the  place  will  at  last  be  brighter 
than  the  day  could  make  it.  "When  the  first  of  those 
proofs  from  fulfilled  prophecy  are  read,  the  darkness  of 
the  heart,  though  smitten,  may  not  be  dispersed.  The 
very  marvellousness  of  the  evidence  awakens  suspicion.  It 
seems  too  wonderful,  it  appears  to  give  too  ready  and  too 
full  a  satisfaction,  to  be  true.  The  whisper  may  be  heard, 
when  the  first  cry  of  wonder  has  died  away,  that  we  are 
mistaking  for  design  what  is  after  all  the  work  of  chance ; 
or  that  what  has  astonished  us  is  an  enthusiastic  reading  of 
the  words  of  Scripture,  which  sober  inspection  will  not 
confirm.  The  best  answer  to  all  this  is  to  show  how  wide 
is  the  field  which  the  fulfilments  of  prophecy  cover;  and 
that  the  soberest  investigation  cannot  be  blind  to  the  fact 
that  the  pages  of  Scripture  are  studded  with  predictions,  as 
the  heaven  with  stars,  or  the  earth  with  flowers, — predictions 
that  have  been,  and  are  being,  slowly  but  surely  fulfilled. 
The  remedy  here,   too,  is  to  multiply  the  lights  till  in  the 


90 


IDUMEA. 


brightening   splendour    no    room    is  left  for  the  shadow  of 
doubt. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  prediction  regarding  Egypt 
that  it  should  "be  desolate  in  the  midst  of  the  countries 
that  are  desolate."  On  the  west,  and  on  the  south  we  have 
seen  how  fully  the  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled.  Let  us  now 
turn  to  the  only  other  side  on  which  Egypt  was  bounded 
by  other  lands.  Travelling  eastward  from  Egypt,  and  cross- 
ing the  desert  of  Sinai,  we  come  to  what  was  the  ancient 
Idumea,  or  Edom,  the  possession  of  the  children  of  Esau. 
The  wilderness  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Wadi  Arabali, 
a  long  and  wide  valley  which  extends  from  the  Dead  Sea 
to  the  Gulf  of  Akabah ;  and  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  valley 
rises  like  a  mighty  wall  the  mountain  range  of  Seir.  The 
Edomites  and  the  Israelites  had  sprung  from  the  same 
stock,  the  one  being  the  descendants  of  Esau,  the  other  the 
children  of  Jacob.  The  latter  were  not  permitted  to  forget 
the  claims  of  brotherhood,  being  forbidden  to  dispossess 
either  the  Edomites  or  the  Moabites.  But,  from  the  time 
the  Israelites  sought  a  passage  to  the  land  promised  to  their 
fathers,  till  Jerusalem  was  laid  in  ashes  and  Judah  was  carried 
captive  to  Babylon,  there  was  neither  goodwill  nor  peace 
between  these  common  descendants  of  Abraham.  "Moses 
sent  messengers  from  Kadesh  unto  the  king  of  Edom,  Thus 
saith  thy  brother  Israel,  Thou  knowest  all  the  travel  that 
hath  befallen  us  :  how  our  fathers  went  down  into  Egypt, 
and  we  dwelt  in  Egypt  a  long  time ;  and  the  Egyptians  evil 
entreated  us,  and  our  fathers :  and  when  we  cried  unto  the 
Lord,  He  heard  our  voice,  and  sent  an  angel,  and  brought 
us  forth  out  of  Egypt ;  and,  behold,  we  are  in  Kadesh,  a 
city  in  the  uttermost  of  thy  border :  let  us  pass,  I  pray 
thee  through  thy  land"  (Num.   xx.   14-17). 

To  this  appeal  the  only  answer  was  an  unsheathed  sword. 
The  Edomites  massed  their  forces  on  their  western  frontier, 
and  the  Israelites  were  compelled  to  choose  another  way. 
The  enmity  did  not  end  there.     Edom  watched  his  oppor- 


THE    SIN    OF    EDOM.  91 

tunity,  and,  springing  from  his  mountain  lair,  again  and 
again  drank  blood.  When  Israel  was  weak  and  oppressed, 
it  could  always  reckon  that  in  him  it  had  one  foe  more. 
"He  did  pursue  his  brother  with  the  sword,  and  did  cast 
off  all  pity,  and  his  anger  did  tear  perpetually,  and  he  kept 
his  wrath  for  ever"  (Amos  i.  11).  In  that  last  sore  distress 
Judah  had  no  more  bitter  and  insulting  foe  than  Edom. 
The  Psalmist  cries,  "Remember,  O  Lord,  against  the 
children  of  Edom,  the  day  of  Jerusalem ;  who  said,  Rase  it, 
rase  it,  even  to  the  foundation  thereof"  (Ps.  cxxxvii.  7). 
For  the  man  who  is  deaf  to  the  pleadings  of  brotherhood 
and  of  pity  the  Scripture  has  its  threatenings.  It  has  also 
its  judgments  for  nations.  "Thus  saith  the  Lord  God: 
Behold,  I  am  against  thee,  O  mount  Seir.  .  .  .  because 
thou  hast  had  a  perpetual  enmity,  and  hast  given  over  the 
children  of  Israel  to  the  power  of  the  sword  in  the  time 
of  their  calamity,  in  the  time  of  the  iniquity  of  the  end : 
therefore  as  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  will  prepare  thee 
unto  blood,  and  blood  shall  pursue  thee.  .  .  Thus  will 
I  make  mount  Seir  an  astonishment  and  a  desolation ;  and 
I  will  cut  off  from  it  him  that  passeth  through  and  him  that 
returneth "  (Ezek.  xxxv.   3-7). 

In  this  and  other  predictions  we  are  presented  with 
another  prophetic  picture.  No  forecast  could  have  been 
made  whose  fulfilment  seemed  less  likely.  When  the  words 
were  penned,  and  for  ages  afterwards,  Edom  was  strong 
and  populous.  The  number  of  ruined  towns  and  cities  show 
that  the  land  was  thickly  peopled ;  while  there  are  numerous 
indications,  both  in  the  vestiges  of  ancient  cultivation,  and 
in  the  present  condition  of  the  soil,  that  the  language  of 
Scripture  has  not  exaggerated  its  great  fertility.  "The 
whole  of  the  fine  plains  in  this  quarter  "  (the  neighbourhood 
of  Kerak)  "  are  covered  with  sites  of  towns  on  every  eminence, 
or  spot  convenient  for  the  construction  of  one,  and  all 
the  land  is  capable  of  rich  cultivation  :  there  can  be  little 
doubt   that  this  country,   now  so  deserted,   once  presented 


92  IDT7MEA. 

a  continued  picture  of  plenty  and  fertility."  *  Wherever 
springs  "are  met  with,"  says  Burckhardt,  "vegetation 
readily  takes  place,  even  among  barren  sand  and  rocks." 
He  speaks  in  warm  terms  of  the  superiority  of  the  climate, 
of  the  purity  of  the  air,  and  the  refreshing  breezes,  and 
remarks  that  in  no  other  part  of  Syria  had  he  met  so  few 
invalids.  Speaking  of  the  plains  at  the  foot  of  mount  Hor 
Dean  Stanley  says :  "  Instead  of  the  absolute  nakedness  of 
the  Sinaitic  valleys,  we  found  ourselves  walking  on  grass, 
sprinkled  with  flowers,  and  the  level  platforms  on  each  side 
were  filled  with  sprouting  corn."  f  Petra,  the  great  rock 
city,  the  Selah  of  the  Scripture  (2  Kings  xiv.  7),  and  the 
capital  of  Eclom,  was  a  place  of  immense  strength,  and  one 
of  the  wonders  of  the  world.  The  country  was  enriched  by 
the  gains  of  a  large  and  lucrative  trade.  To  Petra  the 
caravans  from  the  east  and  the  south  turned  as  to  a  common 
centre;  and  from  it  the  trade  branched  out  again  to  Egypt, 
Palestine,  and  Syria.  In  the  time  of  our  Lord,  Idumea  was 
still  populous,  and  these  prophecies  were  unfulfilled.  Judg- 
ments had  indeed  fallen  upon  the  land.  It  stood  written  in 
Ezekiel :  "I  will  lay  My  vengeance  upon  Edom  by  the  hand 
of  My  people  Israel ;  and  they  shall  do  in  Edom  according 
to  Mine  anger  and  according  to  My  fury."  The  words  were 
fulfilled  in  the  time  of  the  Maccabees.  They  were  con- 
quered by  Hyrcanus  in  129  B.C.,  and  being  compelled  either 
to  adopt  the  Jewish  religion  or  to  leave  the  country,  they 
chose  rather  to  part  with  their  idolatry.  But  the  sun  of 
Edom  did  not  go  down  at  once  in  blood  and  darkness. 
Herod,  an  Idumean  by  descent,  sat  upon  the  throne  of 
Israel.  When  the  Roman  armies  were  closing  round  Jeru- 
salem, an  Idumean  army  threw  itself  into  the  devoted  city, 
and  shared  with  the  Jews  the  toils  and  the  sufferings  of  that 
terrible  siege.  The  prosperity  of  Petra,  and  of  Edom 
generally,  continued  long  after  Zion's  fall.  From  the  fourth 
to  the  sixth  century  Petra  was  the  seat  of  one  of  the  three 
*  Irby  and  Mangles.  t  "Syria  and  Palestine,''  87. 


THE    DESTRUCTION    OF    ITS    TRADE.  93 

metropolitan  sees  of  Palestine,  and  the  names  of  its  bishops 
appear  from  time  to  time  in  the  records  of  the  councils. 
An  Arab  host  was  led  by  Mohammed  in  person  against  the 
south  of  Idumea  in  630.  In  636  it  was  conquered,  along 
with  the  rest  of  Syria,  by  the  Mohammedan  forces.  With 
this  last  notice  Edom,  even  then  fertile  and  populous,  passes 
from  the  page  of  history  for.  more  than  four  and  a  half 
centuries.  The  Crusaders  invaded  the  country  in  1100,  but 
were  finally  driven  out  before  the  end  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury. And  then  the  curtain,  raised  as  it  were  for  a  moment, 
fell  again  only  to  be  drawn  aside  in  what  we  may  name  our 
own  times. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  picture  presented  in  the  mirror 
of  prophecy.     We  notice  first  of  all  that 

ITS    COMMERCE    WAS    TO    CEASE. 

"I  will  cut  off  from  it  him  that  passeth  through,  and  him 
that  returneth"  (Ezek.  xxxv.  7).  It  was  famed,  as  we  have 
seen,  for  its  trade.  Petra  was  the  terminus,  Strabo  tells  us, 
of  one  of  the  great  commercial  routes  of  Asia.  It  was  the 
market  of  the  Arabians  for  their  spice  and  frankincense. 
A  great  fair  was  held  in  its  neighbourhood,  which  on  one 
occasion  Demetrius  Poliorcetes,  incited  by  the  value  of  the 
merchandise  brought  together  for  sale,  attempted  to  sur- 
prise, but  failed.  Such  was  the  Edom,  not  only  of  the 
prophet's  day,  but  of  the  first  ages  of  the  Christian  era. 
And  now  that  the  curtain  is  lifted  there  is  no  more  awful 
testimony  to  the  sureness  of  God's  word  than  this  land 
presents.  The  desolation  is  appalling.  Its  commerce  has 
utterly  passed  away.  We  do  not  know  the  story,  but  the 
great  market  of  Petra  has  long  since  ceased  to  exist.  Edom 
is  no  longer  sought  by  those  who  desire  to  sell  or  by  those 
who  desire  to  buy.  None  go  forth  from  it  laden  with  the 
merchandise  which  once  made  its  name  famous  in  the  earth. 
No  echo  of  its  once  noisy  traffic  breaks  the  brooding  silence 


94  IDT7MEA. 

of  death.      "Him  that  passeth  through  and  him  that  re- 
turneth"  God's  hand  has  alike  "cut  off." 
Another  prophecy  declared  that 

THE  RACE  OF  THE  EDOMITES  SHOULD  BECOME 
EXTINCT. 

"There  shall  not  be  any  remaining  to  the  house  of  Esau" 
(Obadiah  18).  That  they  were  not  extinct  in  the  year  70 
of  our  era  we  know,  for  they  made  common  cause  with 
their  Jewish  kindred  in  the  defence  of  Jerusalem.  They 
were  afterwards  Christianised  with  the  Christianity  charac- 
teristic of  the  Greek  Empire,  and  which  received  its  fitting 
judgment  at  the  hands  of  the  Arab  hordes.  With  the 
Mohammedan  invasion  the  Idumeans  pass  from  sight,  and 
now,  when  we  search  for  them,  they  cannot  be  found.  The 
doom  has  fallen :  the  nation  is  extinct :  there  is  "  none 
remaining  to  the  house  of  Esau."  Dr.  Wilson  found  among 
the  Arabs  a  tribe  (the  fellahin  of  the  Wadi  Musa),*  whom 
he  suspected  to  be  descendants  of  the  ancient  masters  of 
the  country.  He  learned,  on  inquiry,  that  they  claimed 
indeed  to  be  descendants  of  the  Beni-Israel,  of  Jewish 
settlers  or  refugees;  but  no  mention  was  made  of  any  con- 
nection with  Esau.      The  very  name  has  been  forgotten. 

Then  we  are  told  that 

THEIR  LAND  WAS  TO  BE  A  DESOLATION. 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God :  Behold  I  am  against  thee,  O 
mount  Seir,  and  I  will  stretch  out  Mine  hand  against  thee, 
and  I  will  make  thee  a  desolation  and  an  astonishment.  I 
will  lay  thy  cities  waste  and  thou  shall  be  desolate. 
Thou  shalt  be  desolate,  O  mount  Seir,  and  all  Edom,  even 
all  of  it"  (Ezek.  xxxv.  3,  4,  15).  This  doom  too  has  been 
accomplished.  Volney  was  the  first  to  call  attention  to 
the  country,  recording  the  information  given  him  by  Arabs, 
that  within  three  days'  journey  upwards  of  thirty  ruined 
towns,  absolutely  deserted,  were  to  be  met  with.  It  was 
first  explored  by  Burckhardt,  and  since  his  time  many 
*  "The  Lands  of  the  Bible,"  I.  333. 


THE    DESTEUCTION    OF   THE    LAND   AND    PEOPLE.  95 

travellers  have  made  us  familiar  with  the  wonders  of  Petra 
and  the  general  aspect  of  Edom.  Its  cities  are  laid  waste. 
Even  from  Petra  with  its  rock-hewn  dwellings,  fit,  as  Miss 
Martineau  has  said,  to  receive  a  multitude  to-day,  every 
inhabitant  has  long  since  departed.  And  the  entire  land 
is  now,  as  it  has  been  for  ages,  a  desolation.  Here  and 
there  a  cultivated  patch  is  seen,  sown  by  the  Bedouin; 
but  as  a  solitary  cry  in  its  desert  silence  makes  the  awful 
stillness  more  deeply  felt,  so  those  few  green  spots  oppress 
the  heart  with  a  deeper  sense  of  the  terribleness  of  Edom's 
judgment.  The  terraces,  which  of  old  clad  the  mountain 
sides  with  beauty  and  fruitfulness,  are  in  ruins.  Their  walls 
lie  scattered  in  fragments  upon  the  ground,  and  the  rains 
are  year  by  year  washing  down  the  remnants  of  the  soil 
from  the  rocks.  The  town  of  Maan,  on  the  east  of  Edom, 
alone  has  escaped  the  general  desolation.  It  owes  its 
exemption  to  the  possession  of  some  springs,  and  to  its 
lying  upon  the  route  of  the  Mohammedan  pilgrimage  to 
Mecca.  This  Mann  is  the  Theman  mentioned  by  Eusebius, 
and  the  Teman  of  Scripture.  Can  any  one  fail  to  be  struck 
with  the  coincidence  that  it  was  from  this  point  the  deso- 
lation was  to  begin,  and,  as  it  were,  overflow  the  entire 
land?  The  prophet  wrote  as  the  word  of  the  living  God, 
"I  will  make  it  desolate  from  Teman"  (Ezek.  xxv.  13); 
and  in  the  end  of  days  come  like  an  answering  testimony 
these  words  of  Burckhardt :  "At  present  all  this  country 
is  a  desert,  and  Maan  is  the  only  inhabited  place  in  it ! " 
Edom  has  not  yet  touched  its  lowest  depth.  Not  only 
is  it  written,  "I  will  make  thee  perpetual  desolations  and 
thy  cities  shall  not  be  inhabited"  (Ezek.  xxxv.  9),  and 
that  "from  generation  to  generation  it  shall  lie  waste,  none 
shall  pass  through  it  for  ever  and  ever"  (Isaiah  xxxiv.  10); 
but  it  has  also  been  said,  "As  in  the  overthrow  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  and  the  neighbour  cities  thereof,  saith  the 
Lord,  no  man  shall  dwell  there,  neither  shall  any  son  of 
man  sojourn  there."     These  last  words  are  not  yet  fulfilled. 


96  THE    SEA-COAST    OF    PALESTINE. 

The  solitude  is  broken  here  and  there  by  fellaheen  in  the 
north  and  by  Arabs  in  the  south.  But  her  deserted  capital, 
her  ruined  cities,  her  lost  people  are  the  pledge  that  these 
words  too  will  find  their  fulfilment,  and  that  the  time  will 
surely  come  when  no  man  shall  dwell  there  nor  any  son  of 
man  sojourn  therein. 

Let  us  now  pass  from  Idumea  to  the  southern  part  of 
the  sea-coast  of  Palestine,  the  ancient  land  of  the  Philis- 
tines. The  scanty  notices  of  this  people,  supplied  by 
ancient  history  and  the  recently  deciphered  monuments  of 
Egypt  and  Assyria,  agree  with  those  of  Scripture  in  repre- 
senting them  as  an  enterprising  and  martial  race.  More 
than  1,200  years  before  the  Christian  era  we  find  them 
engaged  in  a  successful  war  with  the  Sidonians,  and  about 
the  same  time  they,  in  conjunction  with  other  Mediter- 
ranean nations,  attacked  the  naval  forces  of  Egypt.  Every 
reader  of  the  Old  Testament  is  acquainted  with  their 
persistent  hostility  towards  the  Israelites,  a  hostility  which 
seems  to  have  culminated  in  the  hour  of  Israel's  deepest 
distress,  when  her  armies  were  defeated  and  dispersed,  her 
strongholds  taken,  and  the  majority  of  her  people  carried 
captive  to  Babylonia.  When  the  doom  was  pronounced 
against  Edom,  Philistia  was  not  forgotten.  "Thus  saith 
the  Lord  God :  Because  the  Philistines  have  dealt  by 
revenge,  and  taken  vengeance  with  despite  of  soul  to 
destroy  it  with  perpetual  enmity;  therefore  thus  saith  the 
Lord  God,  Behold,  I  will  stretch  out  mine  hand  upon  the 
Philistines,  and  I  will  cut  off  the  Cherethites,  and  destroy 
the  remnant  of  the  sea-coast"  (Ezek.  xxv.  15,  16);  "Gather 
yourselves  together,  yea  gather  together  O  nation  that  hath 
no  shame.  .  .  .  Woe  unto  the  inhabitants  of  the  sea- 
coast,  the  nation  of  the  Cherethites!  The  word  of  the 
Lord  is  against  you,  O  Canaan,  the  land  of  the  Philistines : 
I  will  destroy  thee  that  there  shall  be  no  inhabitant.  And 
the  sea-coast  shall  be  pastures,  with  cottages  for  shepherds 
and  folds  for  flocks"  (Zephaniah  ii.   1,  5,  6). 


THE    PHILISTINES    WERE    TO    PERISH.  97 

Let  us  look  then  at  this  other  picture  drawn  by  the  pen 
of  prophecy.  We  note  first  of  all  that  upon  this  race, 
which  like  that  of  Esau  sought  to  blot  out  Israel,  there 
also  rests 

THE    DOOM    OF    EXTINCTION. 

The  Cherethites  were  to  be  cut  off,  and  even  the  remnant 
of  the  sea-coast  to  be  destroyed.  In  the  face  of  the  deso- 
lation which  has  descended  on  all  these  lands,  it  may  seem 
as  if  there  was  nothing  wonderful  in  this  prediction.  We 
may  regard  it  as  an  inevitable  feature  in  their  decay  that 
their  ancient  peoples  should  pass  away  and  leave  no  trace. 
But  their  kindred,  the  Egyptians,  have  not  perished,  nor 
have  the  Israelites,  though  bereft  of  a  home  for  eighteen 
centuries,  ceased  to  exist.  Even  the  Amorites,  more 
ancient  foes  of  Israel,  have  descendants  who  can  still  be 
distinguished  among  the  Arabs  of  Mount  Seir.  The  Philis- 
tines— so  powerful  of  old  that  the  Greeks  have  applied  their 
name  to  the  whole  country  and  called  it  Palestine — the  land 
of  the  Philistines — these  might  also  have  endured  either  in 
Philistia  or  elsewhere.  But  its  plains  will  be  searched  in 
vain  for  the  descendants  of  its  ancient  and  war-like  masters. 
Their  merchantmen  no  longer  plough  the  sea  or  crowd 
their  ports.  No  more  do  the  hosts  sweep  out  from 
under  the  frowning  battlements  of  their  once  mighty  cities 
to  defend  the  land,  or  to  carry  fire  and  sword  into  the 
country  of  the  foe.  The  strife,  which  of  old  stained  with 
blood  those  hills  and  plains,  still  adds  to  their  misery;  but 
none  of  that  once  proud  and  mighty  race  have  part  in  it, 
nor  are  there  any,  however  lowly,  who,  there  or  elsewhere, 
bear  their  name.  The  Cherethites  have  been  cut  off,  the 
remnant  of  the  sea-coast  has  perished. 
Then  this  land  also  was  to  be 

A    DESOLATION. 

It    extended    from   Jaffa   to    Gaza,    being   bounded   on   the 
north  by  the  plain  of  Sharon,  on  the  west  by  the  Mediter- 

G 


98  THE    SEA-COAST    OF    PALESTINE. 

ranean,  on  the  south  by  the  desert,  and  on  the  east  by  the 
hills  of  Judah.  It  contained  the  five  great  cities  of  Ekron, 
Ashdod,  Ascalon,  Gath,  and  Gaza.  We  find  the  names 
of  its  strong  cities  appearing  in  the  stories  inscribed 
on  the  monuments  which  tell  of  the  Assyrian  and 
Egyptian  invasions  of  Syria.  Ashdod  defied  the  might 
of  Egypt  for  29  years — the  longest  siege  on  record. 
Though  one  wave  after  another  had  passed  over  Phil- 
istia,  as  over  the  rest  of  Syria — though  Persian,  and 
Egyptian,  and  Greek,  and  Roman  had  wasted  with  fire 
and  sword,  the  country  remained  great  and  populous, 
and  still  possessed  her  great  cities  long  after  the  beginning 
of  the  Christian  era.  Even  in  the  twelfth  century  the  word 
was  still  unfulfilled.  The  country  was  then  full  of  strong 
cities  which  were  taken  and  retaken  during  the  wars  of  the 
crusades.  But  during  the  last  six  centuries  the  judgment 
has  slowly  but  surely  fallen;  it  is  deepening  even  now. 
"Gath  has  entirely  disappeared."  Ascalon  is  now  "with- 
out inhabitant."  "  Akir,"  the  ancient  Ekron,  "  is  a  wretched 
village,  containing  some  40  or  50  mud  hovels;  its  narrow 
lanes  are  encumbered  with  heaps  of  rubbish  and  filth.  It 
stands  on  a  bare  slope,  and  the  ground  immediately  around 
it  has  a  dreary  and  desolate  look,  heightened  by  a  few 
stunted  trees  here  and  there  round  the  houses.  Yet  this  is 
all  that  marks  the  site  and  bears  the  name  of  the  royal  city 
of  Ekron."*  Gaza,  not  the  Gaza  of  the  Philistines  as  we 
shall  afterwards  see,  is  still  the  seat  of  a  considerable  popu- 
lation. It  forms  the  first  resting-place  on  the  caravan 
route  from  Egypt,  and  has  about  15,000  inhabitants.  But 
notwithstanding  its  position  it  has  hardly  retained  the 
shadow  of  its  ancient  strength  and  greatness.  "The  town 
resembles  a  cluster  of  large  villages.  The  principal  one 
stands  on  the  top  of  a  low  hill,  and  the  others  lie  on  the 
plain  at  its  base.  The  hill  appears  to  be  composed,  in  a 
great  measure,  of  the  accumulated  ruins  of  successive  cities. 
*  J.  L.  Porter ;  "  Giant  Cities  of  Bashan  and  Syria's  Holy  Places,"  191. 


ITS     DESOLATION.  99 

We  can  see  portions  of  massive  walls  and  the  ends  of  old 
columns  cropping  up  everywhere  from  the  rubbish.  There 
are  no  walls  or  defences  of  any  kind."*  The  once  mighty 
Ashdod  is  a  village  "wretched  in  the  extreme."  "The 
temples,  palaces,  and  houses  are  all  gone."  All  that  is  left 
is  a  confused  group  of  mud  hovels."  f 

Nor  is  it  that  the  population  of  the  country  has  merely 
changed  its  dwelling-places.  With  the  exceptions  named 
and  a  few  more  it  has  ceased  to  exist.  "Along  the  whole 
sea-board  are  white,  sandy  downs.  Within  these  is  the 
broad  undulating  plain  with  its  rich  deep  soil  and  low 
mounds  at  intervals  over  whose  summits  the  grey  ruins  of 
great  cities  are  now  strewn  in  the  dust.  .  .  .  Euins 
were  visible  everywhere;  but  the  villages  were  few,  small, 
and  far  between."  J  The  depopulation  of  the  country  is 
largely  due  to  "the  insecurity  of  these  parts  at  the  present 
day  from  the  unchecked  incursions  of  the  Bedouin  tribes."  || 
Many  of  the  people  whose  fields  are  on  the  plains  of 
Philistia,  have,  for  security,  fixed  their  dwellings  on  the  hill- 
sides of  Judah.  The  word,  in  short,  has  been  fulfilled, 
which  said,  "  O  Canaan,  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  I  will 
destroy  thee  that  there  shall  be  no  inhabitant"  (Zephaniah 
ii.  5).  The  population,  which  even  now  could  be  sustained 
by  its  exuberant  fertility,  has  long  since  passed  away.  No 
invading  host  need  dread  the  resistance  of  Philistia.  It 
has  ceased  to  defend  itself  even  from  the  inroads  of  the 
robbers  of  the  desert. 

But  it  will  be  said  the  words  "there  shall  be  no  inhabi- 
tant" are  not  literally  fulfilled,  and  the  present  condition  of 
the  country  sprinkled  as  it  is  with  its  miserable  villages 
does  not  answer  to  the  picture  which  is  mirrored  in  the 
prophecy.  This  seeming  difficulty,  however,  only  brings 
out  the  more  the  wonderful  accuracy  with  which  the 
present    condition    of    Philistia    was    portrayed.      Philistia 

*ibid.  204  fibid.  %ibid.  186,  190. 

|| Stanley;  "Syria  and  Palestine,"  259. 


100  THE    SEA-COAST    OF   PALESTINE. 

as  it  then  was,  a  land  of  great  cities,  famed  for  its 
wealth  and  splendour,  its  wisdom  and  martial  prowess,  its 
armies  and  navies,  its  nobles  and  warriors,  its  merchants 
and  artificers,  was  to  be  destroyed.  And  all  have  passed 
away.  We  look  in  vain  for  the  Philistia  of  the  past.  Some 
ruins  of  its  cities  remain,  but  not  a  vestige  of  what  was 
once  its  strength  and  glory  can  now  be  found.  Yet,  though 
the  land  was  to  be  bereft  of  those  inhabitants,  it  was  not 
to  be  tenantless.  The  prophecy  reads,  "I  will  destroy  thee 
that  there  shall  be  no  inhabitant.  And  the  sea-coast  shall 
be  pastures,  with  cottages  for  shepherds  and  folds  for  flocks  " 
(Zeph.  ii.   5,  6). 

The  former  life  was  to  be  replaced  by  this.  And  here 
our  attention  is  called  to  two  other  predictions.  Though 
the  aspect  of  the  country  was  to  be  changed 

ITS   FRUITFULNESS  WAS   TO   REMAIN. 

"  The  sea-coast  shall  be  for  pastures."  It  is  to  attract 
and  sustain  its  new  possessors.  This  is  perhaps  the  most 
striking  feature  of  the  country.  One  traveller  calls  it  "  the 
garden  of  Palestine."  *  All  travellers  speak  of  its  rich  corn 
fields.  "The  most  striking  and  characteristic  feature  of 
Philistia,"  says  Stanley,  "  is  its  immense  plain  of  corn  fields, 
stretching  from  the  edge  of  the  sandy  tract  right  up  to  the 
very  wall  of  the  hills  of  Judah,  which  look  down  its  whole 
length  from  north  to  south.  These  rich  fields  must  have 
been  the  great  source  at  once  of  the  power  and  the  wealth 
of  Philistia,  and  of  the  unceasing  efforts  of  Israel  to 
master  the  territory.  It  was  in  fact  a  "little  Egypt. 
.  .  .  .  As  these  plains  form  the  point  of  junction 
and  contrast  with  the  hills  of  Judah  on  the  west, 
so  they  form  a  point  of  junction  and  similarity  with 
the  wide  pastures  of  the  desert  on  the  south."  f  The 
"plain,"  says  another,  "now  opened  up  before  us 
*  Porter :  "  Giant  Cities  of  Bashan,"  &c. 
T  "  Syria  and  Palestine,"  258,  259. 


THE    DESTINY    OF    THE     LAND.  101 

rolling  away  to  the  southern  horizon  in  graceful  un- 
dulations, clothed  with  a  rich  mantle  of  green  and  gold 
■ — harvest  field  and  pasture  land.  .  .  .  The  plain  was 
all  astir  with  bands  of  reapers,  men  and  women.  .  .  . 
Leaving  this  low-lying  plain  we  ascended  the  bleak  downs 
where  vast  flocks  of  sheep  and  camels  were  browsing;  and 
away  on  our  left,  nearly  a  mile  distant,  we  saw  the  black 
tents  of  their  Arab  owners."  He  speaks  of  "the  noble 
plain"  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  ancient  Ashdod, 
"  stretching  away  to  the  foot  of  Judah's  mountains,  here 
and  there  cultivated,  but  mostly  neglected  and  desolate, 
yet  all  naturally  rich  as  in  the  palmiest  days  of  Philistia's 
power."  * 

The  fertility  of  the  land,  therefore,  remains,  and  the  words 
which  describe 

THE    PRESENT   ASPECT   OF    THE    LAND    AND    THE 
PURPOSE   IT  SERVES 

are  also  fulfilled.  The  sea-coast  has  literally  become  "pastures 
and  cottages  for  shepherds,  and  folds  for  flocks."  Volney 
thus  describes  the  country  as  he  found  it  in  1785: — "In 
the  plain  between  Ramla  and  Gaza  we  met  with  a  number 
of  villages  badly  built  of  dried  mud,  and  which,  like  the 
inhabitants,  exhibit  every  mark  of  poverty  and  wretchedness. 
The  houses,  on  a  nearer  view,  are  only  so  many  huts, 
sometimes  detached,  at  others  ranged  in  the  form  of  cells, 
around  a  courtyard  enclosed  by  a  mud  wall.  In  winter  they 
and  their  cattle  may  be  said  to  live  together,  the  part  of  the 
dwelling  allotted  to  themselves  being  only  raised  about 
two  feet  above  that  in  which  they  lodge  their  beasts.  Except 
the  environs  of  these  villages,  all  the  rest  of  the  country  is 
a  desert,  and  abandoned  to  the  Bedouin  Arabs,  who  feed 
their  flocks  on  it."  What  the  country  then  was  it  still 
remains.  Dr.  Thomson  gives  the  following  graphic  des- 
cription of  a  large  village  in  one  of  the  most  flourishing 
*  Porter:  "Giant  Cities  of  Bashan  "  &c,  190-195. 


102  THE    SEA-COAST    OF   PALESTINE. 

districts.  After  riding  for  nearly  two  hours  "through  an 
ocean  of  ripe  wheat,"  he  came  to  Mesmia  just  as  the  sun 
set.  There  I  pitched  for  the  night.  It  is  a  large  agricultual 
village,  mud  hovels  packed  together  like  stacks  in  a  barn-yard, 
and  nearly  concealed  by  vast  mounds  of  manure  on  all  sides 
of  it.  During  the  night  a  dense  fog  settled  down  flat  upon 
the  face  of  the  plain,  through  which  you  could  not  see  ten 
steps,  and  the  scene  in  the  morning  was  extraordinary  and 
highly  exciting  Before  it  was  light  the  village  was  all 
abuzz  like  a  bee-hive.  Forth  issued  party  after  party  driving 
camels,  horses,  mules,  donkeys,  cows,  sheep,  goats,  and 
even  poultry  before  them.  To  everybody  and  thing  there  was 
a  separate  call,  and  the  roar  and  uproar  were  prodigious."* 
Referring  to  the  Temple  of  Dagon,  one  of  the  glories  of 
ancient  Ashdod,  Porter  says :  "  Not  a  vestige  of  the  temple 
is  there  now.  Along  the  southern  declivity  old  building- 
stones  with  fragments  of  columns  and  sculptured  capitals 
are  piled  up  in  the  fences  of  little  fields,  and  in  the 
walls  of  goat  and  sheep  pens,  showing  how  time  and  God's 
unchangeableness  have  converted  prophecy  into  history : 
'and  the  sea-coast  shall  be  dwellings,  and  cottages  for 
shepherds,  and  folds  for  flocks' "  f 

We  may  notice  in  connection  with  this  country  some 
startling  instances  of  the  minute  fulfilment  of  prophecy. 
They  are  presented  in  the  diverse  fates  of  three  of  its 
great  cities.  The  prophet  Zechariah  declares,  "Ashkelon 
shall  not  be  inhabited"  (ix.  5);  and  Zephaniah,  "Ashkelon" 
shall  be  "a  desolation"  (ii.  4).  The  latter  prophet  imme- 
diately after  the  prediction  we  have  just  noticed,  continues : 
"And  the  coast  shall  be  for  the  remnant  of  the  house  of 
Juclah ;  they  shall  feed  their  flocks  thereupon  :  in  the  houses 
of  Ashkelon  shall  they  lie  down  in  the  evening  :  for  the 
Lord  their  God  shall  visit  them,  and  turn  away  their  capti- 
vity."    It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  though  the  inhabitant 

*  "The  Land  and  the  Book,"  I.  161. 
t  "Giant  Cities  of  Bashan,"  &c.,  195. 


ASCALON,    EKRON,    GAZA.  103 

should  cease  from  Ascalon,  the  place  should  remain  even 
till  the  ingathering  of  Israel.  What,  then,  is  the  fact  1  Till 
nearly  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century  Ascalon  retained 
its  strength  and  greatness,  when  its  fortifications  were 
demolished  by  the  Sultan  Bibars,  and  its  harbour  filled  up 
with  stones.  The  walls  present  evidence  of  their  having 
been  rebuilt,  and  it  was  held  by  a  Turkish  garrison  so  late 
as  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Since  then 
it  has  been  totally  deserted.  The  modern  village  is  to  the 
north  of  the  old  site,  and  not  even  those  who  own  orchards 
within  the  walls  plant  their  dwellings  there.  The  walls  of 
the  town,  with  their  ruined  towers  and  battlements,  still 
remain,  and  in  this  respect  Ascalon  stands  alone  among 
ancient  cities  of  Philistia.  "The  topography  of  this  place 
is  very  peculiar.  A  lofty  and  abrupt  ridge  begins  near 
the  shore,  runs  up  eastward,  bends  round  to  the  south,  then 
to  the  west,  and  finally  north-west  to  the  sea  again,  forming 
an  irregular  amphitheatre.  On  the  top  of  this  ridge  ran 
the  wall,  which  was  defended  at  its  salient  angles  by 
strong  towers.  The  specimens  which  still  exist  show  that 
it  was  very  high  and  thick.  .  .  .  The  position  is  one 
of  the  fairest  along  this  part  of  the  Mediterranean  coast. 
.  The  walls  must  have  been  blown  to  pieces  by 
powder,  for  not  even  earthquakes  could  toss  these  gigantic 
masses  of  masonry  into  such  extraordinary  attitudes.  No 
site  in  this  country  has  so  deeply  impressed  my  mind 
with  sadness."*  Ascalon  is  a  desolation,  but  it  waits  to 
render  a  final  service.  Ibrahim  Pasha  in  1840  cleared  part 
of  the  ruins  to  bivouac  the  Egyptian  troops,  and  in  so  doing 
uncovered  no  fewer  than  20  wells  of  water.  The  cleared 
space  has  since  been  occupied  as  gardens,  and  Thomson 
says  :  "  Ashkelon  will  surely  be  rebuilt  at  some  future  day  of 
prosperity  for  this  unhappy  land.  The  position  is  altogether 
too  advantageous  to  allow  it  to  sink  into  total  neglect."  f 
In  the  same  prediction  of  Zephaniah  we  read  :  "  Ekron " 
*  "  The  Land  and  the  Book,"  545,  546.         +  ibid.  546. 


104  THE    SEA-COAST    OF   PALESTINE. 

(more  correctly  Akkaron)  "shall  be  rooted  up"  (ii.  4). 
The  words  are  unusual  and  striking,  yet  few  would  think 
of  laying  special  stress  upon  them.  Let  the  event  instruct 
us.  The  site  is  still  called  Akir,  and  there  still  remain  upon  it 
a  few  habitations.  But  round  the  small  village  no  mounds 
are  seen  such  as  mark  the  sites  of  other  ancient  cities. 
Ehron  has  literally  been  rooted  up.  The  place  where  it  once 
stood  is  now  ploughed  fields,  and  the  only  evidence  that  a 
city  ever  existed  there  is  found  in  the  stones  of  hand-mills, 
and  the  ancient  cisterns  which  are  occasionally  met  with 
by  the  cultivators. 

It  is  also  said  in  Zephaniah,  "Gaza  shall  be  forsaken" 
(ii.  4.);  and  in  Jeremiah,  "Baldness  is  come  upon  Gaza" 
(xlvii.  5).  There  is  still  a  town  of  this  name  as  we  have  seen, 
which  has  at  present  a  population  of  about  fifteen  thousand. 
Dr.  Keith,  in  the  earlier  editions  of  his  work  on  Prophecy, 
found  this  a  difficulty.  It  seemed  plain  that  either  the 
time  had  not  yet  come  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  predictions, 
or  that  the  language  of  the  prophets  was  not  to  be  taken 
quite  literally,  and  that  the  once  great  city  of  Gaza  might 
be  regarded  as  offering  in  its  present  fallen  condition  a 
comparatively  close  fulfilment.  But  meanwhile  the  prophecies 
had  been  so  fully  accomplished,  that  the  ancient  Gaza 
could  lift  no  protest  against  the  mistake  which  was  being 
made.  The  modern  town  is  not  built,  as  Dr.  Keith  became 
afterwards  aware,  on  the  site  of  the  old,  and  is  therefore 
not  the  subject  of  the  prophecies.  The  great  Gaza  of  the 
Philistines  lay  two  miles  nearer  the  shore,  and  is  now  a 
series  of  sand-hills,  covered  with  minute  but  manifold 
remains.  It  is  so  forsaken  that  there  is  not  a  single  hut 
resting  upon  its  site.  It  is  so  bald  that  neither  pillar  nor 
stone  marks  the  place  where  the  city  stood,  nor  is  there  a 
single  blade  of  grass  on  which  the  weary  eye  can  rest. 

Every  one  will  feel  how  startlingly  clear  and  minute 
these  prophetic  pictures  are.  Were  they  mere  descriptions 
we  should  admire  their  accuracy  and  happy  fitness  of  ex- 


ASCAL0N,    EKRON,    GAZA.  105 

pression.  Our  wonder  is  intensified  as  we  mark  how 
accurately  the  fate  of  those  three  allied  cities  is  discriminated. 
The  description  of  Ascalon,  desolate  and  tenantless,  awaiting 
a  day  of  restoration  when  it  may  receive  wanderers  to  its 
shelter,  can  be  applied  to  neither  Ekron  nor  Gaza.  Gaza 
though  forsaken  and  bald,  has  not  been  rooted  up.  Its 
mounds  remain,  bald  though  they  are ;  their  stones  are 
sometimes  quarried  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  neighbouring 
town,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  foundations  of  the  ancient 
city  may  yet  be  laid  bare.  Only  to  Ekron  does  that 
briefest  but  truest  of  all  possible  descriptions  apply;  it 
alone  has  been  "rooted  up."  The  traveller  who  would 
to-day  apply  these  words  for  the  first  time,  we  should 
judge  to  be  possessed  of  clear  observation,  and  of  that 
rarer  penetration  and  sympathy  of  genius  which  grasp  to 
its  inmost  depths  the  thing  with  which  they  deal.  Add  to 
this,  what  we  know,  that  the  words  stood  upon  the  page  of 
Scripture  for  long  centuries  ere  any  sign  appeared  of  their 
fulfilment,  and  then  say  what  we  are  to  think  of  these 
things.  Very  high  claims  have  been  made  on  behalf  of 
the  Scriptures;  but  if  we  test  them  by  these  three  words, 
we  think  the  highest  claim  of  all  will  be  amply  sustained. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


JUDEA    AND     BABYLON. 

ROM  THE  SEA-COAST  of  Palestine  we  now  pass 
over  to  the  land  of  Israel.  We  have  some 
remarkable  prophecies  regarding  Judea,  as  well 
as  regarding  the  Jews,  in  the  books  of  Leviticus  and 
Deuteronomy.  They  are  predictions  the  fulfilment  of  which 
was  to  be  contingent  on  the  prolonged  disobedience,  the  per- 
sistent rebellion,  of  the  Israelites.  After  having  spoken  of 
milder  chastisements  the  Scripture  proceeds :  "  And  if  ye 
will  not  for  all  this  hearken  unto  Me,  but  walk  contrary 
unto  Me,  then  I  will  walk  contrary  unto  you  in  fury,  and  I 
will  also  chastise  you  seven  times  for  your  sins.  .  .  And 
I  will  destroy  your  high  places.  .  .  .  And  I  will  make 
your  cities  a  waste,  and  will  bring  your  sanctuaries  unto 
desolation,  and  I  will  not  smell  the  savour  of  your 
sweet  odours,  and  I  will  bring  the  land  into  desolation, 
and  your  enemies  which  dwell  therein  shall  be  aston- 
ished at  it.  And  you,  will  I  scatter  among  the  nations, 
and  I  will  draw  out  the  sword  after  you,  and  your  land  shall 
be  a  desolation  and  your  cities  shall  be  a  waste.  Then 
shall  the  land  enjoy  her  sabbaths,  as  long  as  it  lieth  deso- 
late and  ye  be  in  your  enemies'  land,  even  then  shall  the 
land  have  rest  and  enjoy  her  sabbaths"  (Levit.  xxvi.  27-34). 
These  words  were  written  before  the  Israelites  entered 
Palestine.      There   were   partial   and   temporary   fulfilments 


THE    PREDICTED    PUNISHMENT.  107 

before  the  Christian  era,  such  as  the  removal  to  Babylon, 
from  the  consideration  of  which  we  are  precluded  by  the 
limits  we  have  assigned  ourselves.  But  if  these  words 
ever  were  to  be  fulfilled  they  ought  to  be  fulfilled  now. 
They  are  a  statement  of  what  God  is  to  do  in  the  event  of 
Israel's  stubborn  resistance  to  His  will.  Their  continued 
unbelief,  their  persistent  disobedience,  are  to  be  followed 
by  these  judgments  which  are  to  mark  them  as  the  objects 
of  God's  displeasure.  Now,  if  Christianity  is  of  God  and 
these  words  are  His,  this  must  be  beyond  every  other,  the 
time  of  their  fulfilment.  For  if  Christ  is  indeed  the  Saviour 
promised  from  of  old  and  the  King  whom  God  has  anointed 
over  Zion,  then  there  is  nothing  which  Israel  has  ever  done 
which  has  equalled  the  rebellion  of  these  18  centuries.  It 
has  been  high-handed  and  utter.  There  has  not  been  the 
slightest  attempt,  or  pretence  of  an  attempt,  even  to  make 
a  compromise.  They  have  wholly  rejected  God's  covenant. 
For  that  covenant  as  made  with  Abraham,  spoke  of  Him 
in  whom  all  nations  of  the  earth  were  to  be  blessed. 
When  it  was  reinstituted  under  Moses,  it  made  mention  of 
the  Prophet  like  unto  him.  When  the  one  King  of  God's 
appointment  was  set  over  Israel,  they  were  pointed  to 
David's  son,  whose  sceptre  should  rule  the  nations  and 
whose  dominion  should  be  everlasting;  and  this  Anointed 
One  was  ever  more  clearly  set  forth  by  the  prophets  who, 
according  to  the  Jews'  own  admission,  were  the  in- 
spired exponents  of  the  Divine  will.  And  yet,  when  He 
came,  they  said  "  we  will  not  have  this  man  to  reign  over 
us."  They  crucified  Him.  They  blasphemed  His  name. 
They  persecuted  His  followers.  They  tried  to  stamp  out 
the  acknowledgment,  and  even  the  remembrance,  of  Him, 
from  the  earth.  And  to-day,  though  powerless — we  may 
also  say  unwishful — to  injure  Christianity,  their  rejection 
of  it  is  still  sullen  and  contemptuous.  If  in  the  face  of  all 
this  nothing  which  the  servant  of  God  spoke  of  has  been 
done,    I    can    conceive    of    no    stronger   argument   against 


108  JUDEA. 

Christianity  than  these  very  words  of  his  would  supply. 
It  would  then  be  clearly  proved  either  that  the  words  were 
not  true,  or  that  in  rejecting  Christ,  the  Jews  were  not 
rejecting  anything  which  could  be  called  the  covenant,  or 
the  will,  of  God.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  words 
have  all  been  fulfilled  to  the  letter,  are  not  both  claims 
fully  proved  ?  If  the  punishment  has  been  contempora- 
neous with  the  rebellion,  if  the  punishment  has  been  as 
prolonged  as  the  rebellion  has  been  enduring,  what  then  1 
Shall  we  not  read  there  that  these  are  God's  words  and 
that  Jesus  is  God's  gift  to  us  1 

Let  us  see  then  whether  the  prophecy  has  been  made 
good.  We  confine  ourselves  at  present  to  what  is  said  of 
the  land — the  story  of  the  people  will  come  before  us  again. 
We  notice  first  of  all  that  there  was  to  be 

A    CESSATION    OF    JEWISH    WORSHIP    AND    THE 
DESOLATION    OF    THEIR    SANCTUARIES. 

"I  will  not  smell  the  savour  of  your  sweet  odours,"  "I 
will  destroy  your  high  places  .  .  .  and  will  bring  your 
sanctuaries  unto  desolation"  (Levit.  xxvi.  30,  31).  We 
know  what  Jewish  worship  was  in  the  time  of  our  Lord. 
The  prescribed  service  of  the  law  was  celebrated  with 
pomp  and  splendour  by  a  fully  equipped  and  richly-sus- 
tained priesthood.  The  temple  tax  of  two  drachmae  was 
paid  not  only  by  the  Jews  in  Judea  and  Galilee.  Wherever 
the  Jew  was  found  throughout  the  known  world  the  tax 
was  collected  and  forwarded  to  Jerusalem.  The  Temple 
itself  was  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world.  "High  above 
the  whole  city  rose  the  Temple,  uniting  the  commanding 
strength  of  a  citadel  with  the  splendour  of  a  sacred  edifice. 
According  to  Josephus  the  esplanade  on  which  it  stood 
had  been  considerably  enlarged  by  the  accumulation  of 
fresh  soil  since  the  days  of  Solomon,  particularly  on  the 
north  side.  It  now  covered  a  square  of  a  furlong  each 
side."  *  Of  the  internal  splendours  of  the  edifice,  the 
*  Milman,  "History  of  the  Jews,"  II.,  331. 


THE    DESOLATION    OF    ITS    HOLY    PLACES.  109 

beauty  and  magnificence  of  the  colonnades  and  courts  and 
gates,  we  need  not  speak.  "The  outward  face  of  the 
Temple  in  its  front  wanted  nothing  that  was  likely  to 
surprise  either  men's  minds  or  their  eyes,  for  at  the  first 
rising  of  the  sun  it  reflected  back  a  very  fiery  splendour, 
and  made  those  who  forced  themselves  to  look  upon  it,  to 
turn  their  eyes  away,  just  as  they  would  have  done  at  the 
sun's  own  rays.  It  appeared  to  strangers  when  they  were 
at  a  distance  like  a  mountain  covered  with  snow,  for  those 
parts  of  it  that  were  not  covered  with  gold  were  exceeding 
white."  "Vast  and  splendid,"  says  Hosmer,  "the  Temple 
certainly  was.  The  Romans  were  then  at  the  height  of 
power,  and  familiar  with  all  the  magnificence  of  the  earth, 
yet  it  seemed  to  them  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world. 
No  doubt  it  far  surpassed  in  greatness  and  beauty  the 
structure  of  Solomon,  upon  whose  foundations  it  was  reared. 
The  Herods  had  lavished  upon  it  vast  treasures."  * 

Such  then  was  the  worship,  and  the  "Holy  Place"  of  the 
Jew  at  the  time  of  our  Lord.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  it 
stood  written  from  the  time  they  passed  out  of  Egypt  that, 
if  they  consummated  their  sin  and  completed  their  rebellion 
by  the  rejection  of  God's  covenant,  their  Holy  Places  would 
be  brought  into  desolation  and  their  worship  should  cease. 
About  the  year  26  of  our  era  Jesus,  the  Messiah,  was  mani- 
fested. After  three-and-a-half  years  of  opposition  and 
persecution  the  Roman  Governor  was  compelled  by  the 
Jewish  Rulers  to  do  their  will,  and  Jesus  Was  crucified. 
Then  the  gospel  of  a  crucified  and  risen  Redeemer  was 
preached.  And  now  in  their  turn  the  heralds  of  the  cross 
were  rejected,  maligned,  imprisoned,  scourged,  and  slain. 
Then  in  the  year  70  the  blow  fell.  The  Roman  armies 
swept  the  land  with  fire  and  sword,  the  bitter  opposition 
they  met  with  fanning  their  rage  to  tenfold  fierceness. 
The  priesthood  perished.  The  Holy  Places  were  literally 
brought  into  desolation.  The  Temple  was  burned  anc] 
*  "The  Jews,"  104. 


110  JUDEA. 

ruthlessly  demolished.  Jerusalem  was  dedicated  to  Jupiter 
Capitolinus,  and  the  figure  of  a  sow  was  placed  over  the 
gate  leading  to  Bethlehem,  so  that  under  its  polluting 
shadow  no  Jew  might  pass.  Never  since  then  has  the 
Jew  offered  a  single  sacrifice  prescribed  by  the  Law.  From 
that  day  to  this  the  multitudes  who  from  every  quarter 
under  heaven  went  up  to  keep  holy-day  have  ceased.  To 
this  hour  the  doom  of  desolation  remains,  and  these  18 
centuries  are  the  witnesses  to  the  truth  of  the  words,  "I 
will  not  smell  the  savour  of  your  sweet  odours.  I  will 
destroy  your  high  places  .  .  .  and  will  bring  your  sanctu- 
aries into  desolation." 

But,  terrible  as  this  punishment  was,  there   were   to   be 
still  other  tokens  of  the  Divine  displeasure. 

THE     ISRAELITES    WERE     TO     BE    DRIVEN    FROM 
THEIR    LAND. 

"You,  will  I  scatter  among  the  nations"  (Levit.  xxvi.  33). 
Men  were  to  say  of  them,  "  The  Lord  rooted  them  out  of 
their  land  in  anger,  and  in  wrath,  and  in  great  indignation, 
and  cast  them  into  another  land  as  at  this  day"  (Deut. 
xxix.  28).  The  dispersion  of  the  Jews  is  one  of  the  com- 
mon-places of  history.  Their  story  is  one  more  proof  how 
the  words  of  Scripture  are  filled  to  the  brim,  so  to  speak, 
with  meaning.  Not  only  was  the  race  cut  down  like  a  tree 
and  its  branches  scattered  abroad  :  it  was  literally  "  rooted 
out."  The  work  was  not  wholly  done  in  the  first  conquest 
under  Vespasian  and  Titus,  when  Jerusalem  was  taken,  and 
one  stronghold  after  another  went  down,  and  all  resistance 
was  trampled  under  foot.  It  is  true  that  multitudes  perished 
then,  many  more  were  carried  away  to  be  slain  in  Roman  am- 
phitheatres, or  to  spend  their  lives  in  slavery.  But  it  would 
appear  that  many  of  the  dwellers  in  the  villages  and  in  the 
cities  were  allowed  to  remain  in  the  land.  It  was  not  till  60 
years  afterwards  (135  a.d.)  that  the  ruin  of  the  people 
was  completed.  A  false  Messiah,  named  Barcochebas 
{the   son   of   a   star),   inflamed   their  desire  for   vengeance, 


THE  JEWS  TO  BE  DRIVEN  FROM  THE  COUNTRY.    Ill 

and  their  hope  that  God  would  regard  them  in  their  misery. 
The  remnant  left  in  the  land  was  now  strong  enough  to 
garrison  50  castles  and  985  villages.  Their  efforts  seem  in 
the  beginning  to  have  been  attended  with  success.  The 
Romans  were  defeated,  and  Julius  Severus,  the  most  dis- 
tinguished general  of  the  time,  was  summoned  from  Britain 
to  take  command  of  the  Roman  forces.  The  suppression 
of  the  rebellion  was  a  work  of  time  and  skill,  and  was 
attended  with  losses  so  severe  that  that  war  was  ever  after- 
wards remembered  as  one  of  the  most  disastrous  in  which 
the  Romans  had  ever  engaged.  Terrible  stories  are  told 
by  the  Rabbins  of  the  carnage  which  marked  the  final 
triumph  of  Rome,  and  a  Roman  historian  records  that  during 
the  war  580,000  fell  by  the  sword,  not  including  those  who 
perished  by  famine,  disease,  or  fire.  The  people  who 
remained  were  gathered  together  in  droves,  driven  to  the 
markets,  and  sold  as  slaves.  The  land  was  wholly  depopu- 
lated :  the  people  were  "  rooted  out,"  and  have  never  been 
planted  again  in  the  land  promised  to  their  fathers.  Nearly 
6,000  are  found  in  Jerusalem,  and  about  5,000  in  other 
parts  of  their  ancient  territory.  That  the  Jews  will  eventu- 
ally return  to  Palestine,  we  know.  The  fulfilment  of  the 
predictions  which  foretold  judgment  are  the  pledge  that 
those  also  will  be  accomplished  which  promise  mercy. 
But  meanwhile  the  doom  remains.  Rabbinowitz,  who  went 
in  1882  to  Palestine  with  the  view  of  determining  whether 
the  "  tribes  of  the  wandering  foot  and  weary  breast "  might 
not  find  a  refuge  in  their  ancient  home,  had  to  abandon 
the  idea.  He  was  compelled  to  admit  that  the  poverty  of 
the  soil  and  the  oppression  of  the  Turkish  government 
make  return  an  impossibility. 

But,  though  deprived  of  her  ancient  masters,  the  land  was 
not  to  be  without  inhabitant. 

THEIR  ENEMIES  WERE  TO  DWELL  IN  IT. 

*"I  will  bring  the  land   into    desolation,    and   your   enemies 


112  JUDEA. 

ivho  dwell  therein  shall  be  astonished  at  it"  (Levit.  xxvi.  32). 
The  Israelites  were  to  be  rooted  out,  but  others  were  to 
be  planted  in  their  stead.  And  the  words  were  fulfilled. 
After  the  suppression  of  the  outbreak  in  135,  the  whole 
of  the  land  was  put  up  to  sale  by  command  of  the 
Emperor  Hadrian,  and  was  bought  by  Gentiles,  who  flocked 
in  to  settle  in  the  country  from  which  the  Jews  had  been 
swept  out.  From  that  time  to  this  their  enemies  have 
dwelt  therein.  The  races  who  originally  purchased  the 
land  have  long  ago  been  supplanted  by  others,  but  all  have 
been  alike  in  this  that  they  were  and  are  aliens  and  hostile 
to  the  Jew. 
Then 

THE    CITIES    WERE    TO    BE    A    WASTE. 

This  was  fulfilled  in  70,  and  still  more  fully  in  135.  We 
are  told  that  then  "  the  whole  of  Judea  was  a  desert : 
wolves  and  hyenas  went  howling  along  the  streets  of  the 
desolate  cities."  It  might  be  supposed,  however,  that,  if 
the  preceding  prediction  were  fulfilled  and  the  land  were 
inhabited  by  the  enemies  of  the  Jews,  this  desolation  could 
not  be  a  permanent  feature  of  the  country.  And  yet  this 
was  to  be  one  of  the  enduring  marks  of  the  Divine  indigna- 
tion— "Your  cities  shall  be  a  waste"  (Levit.  xxvi.  33). 
For  a  time  the  doom  seemed  to  be  successfully  withstood. 
The  fulfilment  of  the  one  prophecy  appeared  to  prevent 
the  fulfilment  of  the  other.  The  cities  were  peopled  and 
re-built  by  the  new  settlers.  And  when  Christianity  had 
triumphed  in  its  long  warfare  with  the  heathenism  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  and  Constantine  sat  upon  the  throne  of 
the  Caesars,  Palestine  was  made  to  feel  the  change.  Mag- 
nificent churches  were  reared  on  every  spot  hallowed  by 
Old  or  New  Testament  story.  It  became  a  holy  land  to 
the  whole  Roman  Empire.  When  the  Persians  under 
Chosroes  II.  invaded  the  country  in  the  beginning  of  the 
seventh  century,  Galilee  and  the  district  on  the  other  side 


ITS    CITIES    TO    BE   WASTE.  113 

of  the  Jordan  were  so  full  of  strong  cities  that  the  progress 
of  the  Persian  hosts  was  seriously  delayed.  A  few  years 
afterwards  the  Arab  invaders  were  occupied  four  months  in 
the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  siege  then  ended  only 
because  the  Christians  capitulated  upon  their  own  terms. 
Four  centuries  later  the  Crusaders  found  Palestine  still 
possessed  of  strong  cities — so  long  did  the  word  of  God 
wait,  or  rather  so  slow  are  the  harvests  of  judgment.  But 
the  word  did  not  wait  in  vain.  The  threat,  "Your  cities 
shall  be  a  waste,"  has  long  since  been  abundantly  fulfilled. 
Travellers  speak  of  its  desolation  with  positive  amazement. 
Captain  Conder  refers  to  Judea  as  "  this  ruined  land."  * 
Of  the  Shephelah,  or  western  lowlands,  the  most  fertile  and 
thickly  populated  district  of  the  land  of  Israel  he  says : 
"The  ruins  are  so  thickly  spread  over  hill  and  valley  that 
in  some  parts  there  are  as  many  as  three  ancient  sites  to 
two  square  miles." f  Dean  Stanley  speaks  of  "the  count- 
less ruins  of  Palestine,  f  He  elsewhere  draws  attention 
to  the  "peculiarity  of  the  present  aspect  of  Palestine,  which 
though  not,  properly  speaking,  a  physical  feature,  is  so 
closely  connected  both  with  its  outward  imagery  and  with 
its  general  situation  that  it  cannot  be  omitted.  Above  all 
other  countries  in  the  world  it  is  a  Land  of  Ruins.  ||  It  is 
not  that  the  particular  ruins  are  on  a  scale  equal  to  those 
of  Greece  or  Italy,  still  less  to  those  of  Egypt.  But  there 
is  no  country  in  which  they  are  so  numerous,  none  in 
which  they  bear  so  large  a  proportion  to  the  villages  and 
towns  still  in  existence.  In  Judea  it  is  hardly  an  exaggera- 
tion to  say  that  whilst  for  miles  and  miles  there  is  no 
appearance  of  present  life  or  habitation,  except  the  occa- 
sional goat-herd  on  the  hill-side,  or  gathering  of  women 
at  the  wells,  there  is  yet  hardly  a  hill-top  of  the  many 
within  sight  which  is  not  covered  by  the  vestiges  of  some 
fortress  or  city  of   former  ages.     Sometimes  they  are  frag- 

*  "  Tent  Work  in  Palestine,"  7.  t  ibid.  2. 

X ' '  Syria  and  Palestine,"  119.  1 1  The  Italics  and  Capitals  are  the  Dean's. 

H 


114  JUDEA. 

ments  of  ancient  walls,  sometimes  mere  foundations  and 
piles  of  stone,  but  always  enough  to  indicate  signs  of 
human  habitation  and  civilisation."  *  Of  Jerusalem,  which, 
according  to  another  prediction,  has  continued  from  gener- 
ation to  generation,  this  is  nevertheless  also  true.  The 
chief  of  Israel's  cities  has  not  escaped  the  general  doom. 
Dean  Stanley  says:  "If,  as  we  have  before  observed, 
Palestine  is  a  land  of  ruins,  still  more  emphatically  may  it 
be  said  that  Jerusalem  is  a  city  of  ruins.  Here  and  there 
a  regular  street,  or  a  well-built  European  house  emerges 
from  the  general  crash,  but  the  general  appearance  is  that 
of  a  city  which  has  been  burnt  down  in  some  great 
conflagration."  f 

We  have  now  to  mark  a  kindred  feature  in  the  prophetic 
picture. 

THE  LAND  WAS  ALSO  TO  BE  DESOLATE. 

Here,  again,  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  possession  of 
the  country  by  the  enemies  of  the  Jews  would  have  made 
the  accomplishment  of  the  prophecy  impossible.  If 
industrious  settlers  took  the  place  of  those  whom  God  had 
swept  away,  why  should  not  the  land  have  remained  as 
fertile  and  populous  under  them  as  under  their  prede- 
cessors? There  is  no  doubt  that  for  ages  its  fertility  and 
populousness  did  remain.  But  it  was  written  from  of  old 
that  this  should  be  another  mark  of  God's  displeasure 
against  His  people:  "I  will  bring  the  land  into  desolation; 
and  your  enemies  who  dwell  therein  shall  be  astonished  at 
it.  .  .  Your  land  shall  be  a  desolation.  .  .  Then 
shall  the  land  enjoy  her  Sabbaths,  as  long  as  it  lieth 
desolate,  and  ye  be  in  your  enemies'  land;  even  then  shall 
he  land  rest  and  enjoy  her  Sabbaths.  As  long  as  it  lieth 
desolate  it  shall  have  rest ;  even  the  rest  which  it  had  not 
in  your  Sabbaths,    when   ye   dwelt   upon   it"  (Levit.  xxvi. 

32-35). 

*ibid.  117  iibid.  183. 


THE   LAND    TO    BE    DESOLATE.  115 

The  reiteration  will  be  marked.  The  desolation  of  the 
land  is  as  prominent  a  feature  in  the  prophetic  picture  as 
the  scattering  of  Israel  among  the  nations.  And  this 
judgment  too  has  fallen.  Henry  Maundrell,  who  visited 
the  country  in  1697,  says:  "All  along  this  day's  travel  from 
Khan  Leban  to  Beer,  and  also  as  far  as  we  could  see 
around,  the  country  discovered  a  quite  different  face  from 
what  it  had  before,  presenting  nothing  to  the  view,  in  most 
places,  but  bare  rocks,  mountains,  and  precipices.  .  . 
Leaving  Beer,  we  proceeded  as  before  in  a  rude,  stony 
country."  I  have  already  quoted  the  words  of  Dean 
Stanley,  that  "for  miles  and  miles  there  is  no  appearance 
of  present  life  or  habitation,  except  the  occasional  goat- 
herd on  the  hill-side,  or  gathering  of  women  at  the  wells." 
Elsewhere  he  speaks  of  "the  present  depressed  and  de- 
solate state"  of  the  land.  To  "the  question  which  Eastern 
travellers  so  often  ask  and  are  asked,  on  their  return,  'Can 
these  stony,  these  deserted  valleys,  be  indeed  the  Land  of 
Promise,  the  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey?'"  he 
quotes  in  answer  the  words  of  Dr.  Olin :  "  The  entire 
destruction  of  the  woods  which  once  covered  the  moun- 
tains, and  the  utter  neglect  of  the  terraces  which  supported 
the  soil  on  steep  declivities,  have  given  full  scope  to  the 
rains  which  have  left  many  traces  of  bare  rock,  where 
formerly  were  vineyards  and  cornfields."  And  he  adds : 
"The  very  labour  which  was  expended  on  these  sterile 
hills  in  former  times  has  increased  their  present  sterility. 
The  natural  vegetation  has  been  swept  away,  and  no  human 
cultivation  now  occupies  the  terraces  which  once  took  the 
place  of  forests  and  pastures."*  Speaking  of  the  district 
about  Lake  Huleh,  Mark  Twain  says :  "  Stirring  scenes 
like  these  occur  in  this  valley  no  more.  There  is  not  a 
solitary  village  throughout  its  whole  extent — nor  for  thirty 
miles  in  either  direction.  There  are  two  or  three  small 
clusters  of  Bedouin  tents,  but  not  a  single  permanent  habi 
*"  Syria  and  Palestine,"  120,  121. 


116  JT7DEA. 

tation.  One  may  ride  ten  miles  hereabouts  and  not  see 
ten  human  beings.  To  this  region  one  of  the  prophecies 
is  applied.  'I  will  bring  the  land  into  desolation;  and 
your  enemies  which  dwell  therein  shall  be  astonished  at  it. 
And  I  will  scatter  you  among  the  heathen,  and  I  will  draw 
out  a  sword  after  you ;  and  your  land  shall  be  desolate  and 
your  cities  waste.'  No  man  can  stand  here  by  deserted 
Ain  Mellahah  and  say  the  prophecy  has  not  been  fulfilled." 
And  again :  "It  is  seven  in  the  morning,  and  as  we  are  in 
the  country,  the  grass  ought  to  be  sparkling  with  dew,  the 
flowers  enriching  the  air  with  their  fragrance,  and  the  birds 
singing  in  the  trees.  But  alas,  there  is  no  dew  here,  nor 
flowers,  nor  birds,  nor  trees.  There  is  a  plain  and  an 
unshaded  lake,  and  beyond  them  some  barren  mountains."* 
"The  valley  (of  Shechem),"  writes  Captain  Conder,  "is 
the  most  luxuriant  in  Palestine.  .  .  But  as  at  Damascus 
the  oasis  is  set  in  a  desert,  and  the  stony,  barren  mountains 
contrast  strongly  with  the  green  orchards  below."  f  The 
Rev.  J.  L.  Porter  says :  "  I  climbed  a  peak  which  com- 
mands the  lake,  and  the  Jordan  valley  up  to  the  waters  of 
Merom.  The  principal  scene  of  Christ's  public  labours 
lay  around  me — a  region  some  thirty  miles  long  by  ten 
wide.  When  He  had  His  home  at  Capernaum,  the  whole 
country  was  teeming  with  life,  and  bustle,  and  industry. 
No  less  than  ten  cities,  with  numerous  villages,  studded 
the  shores  of  the  lake,  and  the  plains,  and  the  hill-sides 
around.  The  water  was  all  speckled  with  the  dark  boats 
and  white  sails  of  Galilee's  fishermen.  Eager  multitudes 
followed  the  footsteps  of  Jesus  through  the  city  streets, 
over  the  flower-strewn  fields,  along  the  pebbly  beach. 
What  a  woeful  change  has  passed  over  the  land  since  that 
time  !  The  Angel  of  destruction  has  been  there.  From 
that  commanding  height,  through  the  clear  Syrian  atmos- 
phere, I  was  able  to   distinguish,  by  the  aid  of   my   glass, 

*  "The  New  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  123,  124. 
f'Tent  Work  in  Palestine,"  7. 


THE   LAND    TO    BE   DESOLATE.  117 

every  spot  in  that  wide  region  celebrated  in  sacred  history 
or  hallowed  by  sacred  association.  .  .  Not  a  city,  not  a 
village,  not  a  house,  not  a  sign  of  settled  habitation  was 
there  except  the  few  huts  of  Magdala,  and  the  shattered 
houses  of  Tiberias.  A  mournful  and  solitary  silence  reigned 
triumphant.  Desolation  keeps  unbroken  Sabbath  in  Galilee 
now."  * 

An  equally  graphic  description  is  given  of  another  dis- 
trict. "Geba,  the  ancient  city  of  Canaan,  the  stronghold 
of  Benjamin,  is  now  represented  by  a  few  ruinous  huts,  in 
which  some  half-dozen  shepherds  find  a  home.  A  shattered 
tower,  and  the  foundations  of  an  old  church,  with  heaps  of 
hewn  stones  and  rubbish,  are  the  only  vestiges  of  former 
greatness.  Standing  there  all  solitary  on  its  bare  rocky 
ridge,  looking  down,  over  barren  hills  and  naked  ravines, 
upon  the  scathed  valley  of  the  Jordan,  it  is  the  very  type 
of  desolation.  The  curse  has  fallen  heavily  upon  'Geba 
of  Benjamin.'  When  Elisha  came  up  the  defile  from 
Jericho  to  Bethel,  forests  clothed  the  surrounding  heights; 
now  there  is  not  a  tree  (II.  Kings  ii.  24).  Vineyards  then 
covered  the  terraced  sides  of  glen  and  hill  from  base  to 
summit.  Cities  and  fortresses,  in  the  days  of  Israel's 
power,  crowned  every  peak  and  studded  every  ridge ;  shape- 
less mounds  now  mark  their  deserted  sites.  From  the  site 
of  Geba  no  less  than  nine  ruined  towns  and  villages  were 
pointed  out  to  me.  How  wonderfully  have  the  predictions 
of  Moses  been  fulfilled !     '  I  will  destroy  your  high  places. 

.  I  will  make  your  cities  waste,  and  bring  your  sanc- 
tuaries into  desolation.  .  .  And  I  will  bring  the  land  into 
desolation;  and  your  enemies  which  dwell  therein  shall  be 
astonished  at  it '  (Levit.  xxvi.  30,  32)."  f 

But  not  only  was  it  predicted  that  the  land  should  be 
desolate ; 

THE    DURATION    OF    THE    DESOLATION 
was    also    foretold.      It    is    a    plain    inference    from    the 

*  "Giant  Cities  of  Bashan,"  &c,  107,  108.     fibid.  179,  ISO. 


118 


JUDEA. 


passages  we  have  referred  to  in  Levit.  xxvi.  and  Deut.  xxix. 
that,  so  long  as  the  rebellion  continued,  this  mark  of  God's 
anger  would  remain.  But  the  Scripture  has  not  left  us  to 
inferences.  The  duration,  both  of  the  rebellion,  and  of  its 
punishment,  has  been  distinctly  foretold.  Isaiah,  the  Evan- 
gelist of  prophecy,  was  sent  on  a  mission  which,  he  was 
forewarned,  would  be  fruitless  of  any  immediate  result. 
Instead  of  awaking  Israel  to  repentance,  he  and  those 
whom  he  preceded  would  only  deepen  their  slumber.  The 
prophet  asks  how  long  this  blindness  and  death  will  remain. 
And  He  answered,  "  Until  cities  be  waste  without  inhabitant 
and  houses  without  man,  and  the  land  become  utterly 
waste,  and  the  Lord  have  removed  men  far  away,  and  the 
forsaken  places  be  many  in  the  midst  of  the  land"  (Isaiah 
vi.  11,  12).  That  was  the  answer  to  the  prophet's  cry, 
"  Lord,  how  long  1 "  Israel  should  refuse  to  hear  till 
deepening  judgment  had  brought  the  land  into  the  condi- 
tion pictured  in  those  words — the  condition  in  which  it 
lies  to-day. 

We  have  now  to  notice  what  seems  to  me  one  of  the  most 
surprising  touches  in  this  prophetic  description.  The  land 
of  Israel,  bereft  of  her  ancient  people,  ruined,  desolate,  was 
nevertheless  to  be 

A    LAND    OF    PILGRIMAGES! 

The  prophecy  (Deut.  xxix.  22)  foretells  that  among  those 
who  will  draw  attention  to  the  land  and  its  judgments  will 

be    "  THE    FOREIGNER    THAT    SHALL    COME    FROM  A  FAR  LAND." 

Let  it  be  noted  that  the  judgments  which  were  to  fall 
were  such  as  should  rob  Judea  of  everything  which  might 
attract  the  foreigner  from  a  far  land.  The  cities  were 
to  be  a  waste,  the  land  a  desolation.  There  could  be  no 
commerce  to  allure,  nor  beauty  to  attract.  And  what  could 
it  matter  to  the  nations  that  this  had  once  been  the 
home  of  the  scattered  Israelites  1  Their  exclusiveness,  their 
arrogance    and    turbulence    sowed    everywhere    a    plentiful 


TO    BE   A   LAND    OF    PILGRIMAGES.  119 

harvest  of  hatred  and  scorn.  The  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy 
depended,  in  short,  upon  the  triumph  of  Christianity.  If 
the  covenant  which  the  Jews  rejected  were  once  accepted  by 
the  Gentiles,  and  the  God  of  Israel  became  the  God  of  the 
nations,  then  would  Judea  be  indeed  "a  holy  Land."  A 
consecration,  deeper  than  priestly  rites  could  give,  would 
then  rest  on  every  spot  hallowed  by  Old  or  New  Testament 
story.  But  who  could  have  foreseen  that  their  fall  should 
be  "the  riches  of  the  world,  and  their  loss  their  riches  of 
the  Gentiles  % "  When  the  last  remnant  of  the  Jewish 
nation  was  swept  from  the  land  by  Hadrian  in  135  a.d. 
Christianity  was  still  struggling  against  fearful  odds;  and, 
if  men  were  to  judge  by  what  they  saw,  it  had  not  even 
then  the  remotest  chance  of  succeeding  in  the  conflict. 
Rome  was  at  the  height  of  its  power.  In  the  days  of  its 
comparative  weakness  it  had  subdued  one  mighty  nation 
after  another :  it  had  stamped  out  powerful  and  wide-spread 
conspiracies.  What  chance  had  Christianity  devoid  of 
political  influence  and  without  so  much  as  Peter's  sword 
to  aid  it — what  chance  had  it,  where  all  else  had  failed,  of 
succeeding  or  even  of  existing  in  the  teeth  of  the  deter- 
mined hostility  of  the  entire  Roman  Empire  ?  And  yet, 
right  through  the  heart  of  these  improbabilities,  the  words 
advanced  to  their  accomplishment.  Christianity  has  long 
since  triumphed.  Osiris,  Bel  and  Baal,  Zeus  and  Jupiter, 
Thor  and  Odin,  and  the  entire  pantheon  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  as  well  as  of  nations  on  whose  neck  the  Roman 
yoke  was  never  set,  have  given  place  to  the  God  of 
Israel.  The  land  of  Judea  has  long  since  become  more 
sacred  to  the  Gentile  than  it  ever  was  to  the  Jew,  for  it  has 
been  the  scene  of  the  life  and  ministry  and  suffering  of  the 
Son  of  God.  From  the  third  century  to  the  present  hour 
"the  foreigner  from  a  far  land"  has  never  ceased  to  tread 
its  soil  and  to  wonder  at  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy, 
perhaps  unconscious  that  his  own  presence  there  is  as 
wonderful  a  fulfilment  as  any. 


120 


JUDEA. 


Before  we  pass  from  the  Land  of  Israel,  we  may  glance 
at  some  predictions  regarding  four  of  its  cities.  We 
notice  first 

THE  DOOM  OF  BETHEL. 
This  was  one  of  the  most  ancient  sanctuaries  of  the  land, 
and  its  situation  within  the  territory  of  the  ten  tribes  was 
taken  advantage  of  by  Jeroboam.  To  prevent  the  tribes 
going  to  worship  at  Jerusalem  he  reared  a  temple  around 
its  ancient  altar,  and  that  semi-idolatrous  worship  was 
instituted  which  prepared  the  way  for  the  after  service  of 
Baal.  When  God  visited  the  ten  tribes  for  their  iniquity, 
Bethel  was  also  to  bear  the  mark  of  His  indignation.  Its 
altars  were  to  be  smitten  (Amos  iii.  14).  Its  grandeur 
was  to  pass  away :  "  I  will  smite  the  winter  house  with  the 
summer  house;  and  the  houses  of  ivory  shall  perish,  and 
the  great  houses  shall  have  an  end  saith  the  Lord"  (iii.  15). 
And  the  desolation  was  to  be  still  more  complete :  "  Bethel 
shall  come  to  nought"  (v.  5).  This  judgment  was  no 
doubt  partly  executed  by  King  Josiah.  But  the  words  had 
not  then,  nor  for  ages  after,  reached  their  fulfilment.  It 
was  still  a  city  in  the  days  of  Josephus.  In  the  time  of 
Jerome  it  existed  as  a  small  village.  The  last  notice  of  it 
is  met  with  in  the  sixth  century.  From  that  time  till  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  we  have  no  further 
reference  to  it.  In  the  middle  ages  travellers  pass  over 
the  site  without  remark,  and  it  is  only  in  recent  times 
that  it  has  been  identified.  And  now  the  vail  is  lifted 
only  to  show  how  fully  the  word  has  been  fulfilled. 
"  Bethel  is  at  present  represented  by  a  hamlet  called 
Beit-in.  It  is  not  yet  (1851)  20  years  since  people  began 
to  identify  it  with  the  ancient  Bethel.  The  latter  had 
fallen    quite  into  oblivion.     Its  ruins  cover  a  large  extent 

of   ground The   foundations   of   houses,    loose 

building-stones,   and  fragments  of  walls,  are  to  be  seen  in 
abundance."*     It  is  a   "confused   mass  of   prostrate  walls 

*  Van  de  Velde,  II.,  2S2,  283. 


DESOLATION    OF    SAMARIA.  121 

and  ruins.  .  .  .  We  have  seen  no  place  in  this  country 
whose  present  condition  is  in  such  painful  contrast  to  its 
past  history  as  poor  fallen  Bethel*  Dean  Stanley  says, 
"Bethel,  the  'House  of  God,'  has  become  literally  Beth- 
aven  'the  house  of  naught.'"  One  speaks  of  "the  wild 
and  stony  desolation  that  spreads  itself  over  these  old 
mountain  heights,"  and  another  describes  it  as  "that  dreary 
field  of  ruin." 

Such  was  the  doom  which  hung  over  the  Holy  Place  of 
the  ten  tribes.     A  similar  one  rested  on 

SAMARIA, 

which,  from  the  days  of  Omri,  was  their  capital  and  one 
of  the  chief  glories  of  the  country.  If  we  are  to  judge 
from  the  length  of  the  sieges  which  this  city  sustained,  its 
position  must  be  reckoned  among  the  very  strongest  in  the 
country.  It  was  equally  marked  by  beauty  and  fertility. 
But  what  are  natural  strength  and  beauty  and  fertility 
without  righteousness'?  After  speaking  of  the  indignation 
of  God  at  the  "transgression  of  Jacob"  and  "the  sins  of 
the  house  of  Israel,"  the  prophet  Micah  asks :  "  What  is 
the  transgression  of  Jacob  1  Is  it  not  Samaria  ?  .  .  . 
Therefore  I  will  make  Samaria  as  the  heap  of  the  field, 
and  as  the  plantings  of  a  vineyard  :  and  I  will  pour  down 
the  stones  thereof  into  the  valley,  and  I  will  discover  the 
foundations  thereof"  (Micah  i.  5,   6). 

But  here,  as  elsewhere,  the  doom  lingered  and  seemed 
sometimes  to  be  swept  back  and  defied.  In  109  B.C.  the 
Jewish  High  Priest,  John  Hyrcanus,  took  Samaria  after  a 
year's  siege,  and  levelled  it  to  the  ground.  The  desolation 
was  not,  however,  of  long  duration.  It  was  rebuilt  by  the 
orders  of  Gabinius  about  50  years  after,  and  was  a  few 
years  later  restored  fully  and  with  great  splendour  by  Herod 
the  Great,  who  named  it  Sebaste  (Augusta)  in  honour  of 
his  patron  the  Koman  Emperor.  Josephus  mentions  it  as 
*  "  The  Land  and  the  Book,"  II.,  91,  93. 


122 


JTTDEA. 


a  city  in  70  a.d.  It  was  the  seat  of  a  Roman  colony  in  the 
third  century  of  our  era,  and  on  the  conversion  of  the 
empire  it  became  an  Episcopal  See.  The  names  of  the 
Bishops  of  Sebaste  appear  from  time  to  time  in  the  records 
of  the  councils — the  last  notice  occurring  in  connection 
with  the  Synod  of  Jerusalem,  held  in  the  year  536.  It  was 
taken  by  the  Mahommedans  in  the  beginning  of  the 
seventh  century,  and  it  figures  also  in  the  story  of  the 
Crusades.  For  some  time  after  it  retained  its  position 
among  the  cities  of  Palestine.  Sir  John  Maundeville,  who 
visited  the  country  in  1322,  calls  it  "the  chief  city"  of  the 
district.  But  the  doom  has  long  since  fallen,  and  the 
prediction  which  so  many  ages  seemed  to  mock,  has 
become  the  most  accurate  of  all  descriptions.  Henry 
Maundrell,  telling  what  he  saw  in  1697,  says:  "Sebaste 
is  the  ancient  Samaria,  the  imperial  city  of  the  ten  tribes 
after  their  revolt  from  the  House  of  David.  ...  It  is 
situate  upon  a  long  mount  of  an  oval  figure,  having  first  a 
fruitful  valley  and  then  a  ring  of  hills  running  round  about 
it.  This  great  city  is  now  wholly  converted  into  gardens, 
and  all  the  tokens  that  remain  to  testify  that  there  has  ever 
been  such  a  place,  are  only,  on  the  north  side,  a  large 
square  piazza  encompassed  with  pillars,  and  on  the  east 
some  poor  remains  of   a  great    church." 

As  it  was  then  found,  it  has  since  remained.  "The 
whole  hill  of  Sebastieh,"  says  Robinson,  "consists  of 
fertile  soil;  it  is  now  cultivated  to  the  toj),  and  has  upon 
it  many  olive  and  fig  trees.  The  ground  has  been  ploughed 
for  centuries ;  and  hence  it  is  now  in  vain  to  look  for  the 
foundations  and  stones  of  the  ancient  city."*  Van  de 
Velde  calls  it  a  "pitiable  hamlet,  consisting  of  a  few 
squalid  houses,  inhabited  by  a  band  of  plunderers.  .  .  . 
The  shafts  of  a  few  pillars  only  remain  standing  to  indicate 
the  sites  of  the  colonnades.  .  .  .  Samaria,  a  huge  heap 
of  stones !  her  foundations  discovered,  her  streets  ploughed 
*"  Researches  in  Palestine,"  II.,  307. 


DOOM   OF    CAPEKNAUM.  123 

up,  and  covered  with  corn  fields  and  olive  gardens.  .  .  . 
Samaria  has  been  destroyed,  but  her  rubbish  has  been 
thrown  down  into  the  valley ;  her  foundation  stones,  those 
grayish  ancient  quadrangular  stones  of  the  time  of  Omri 
and  Ahab,  are  discovered,  and  lie  scattered  about  on  the 
slope  of  the  hill."*  "Ruins  everywhere,"  writes  another, 
"in  the  valley,  on  the  hill-side,  down  the  mountain-top, 
amidst  the  olive-groves,  the  wheat-fields,  and  the  vineyards, 
forcibly  bringing  before  the  mind  the  wrath  of  God  against 
that  city."f  Here  also  the  words  have  been  literally 
fulfilled.  The  prediction  has  become  a  description.  The 
stones  of  the  great  city  have  been  taken  up  by  the  culti- 
vators and  piled  together  or  thrown  down  the  hill-sides, 
that  its  site  might  be  turned  into  fields  and  vineyards. 
Samaria  has  been  changed  into  "the  heap  of  the  field" 
and  into  "the  planting  of  a  vineyard."  Its  stones  are 
poured  down  into  the  valley  and  its  very  foundations  are 
laid  bare. 

Two  other  cities,  the  names  of  which  are  for  ever  em- 
balmed in  the  story  of  our  Lord's  life  on  earth,  demand 
a  passing  notice.  Capernaum  "rose  under  the  gentle 
declivities  of  hills  that  encircled  an  earthly  Paradise. 
There  were  no  such  trees,  and  no  such  gardens  anywhere 
in  Palestine  as  in  the  land  of  Gennesareth.  .  .  Josephus, 
in  a  passage  of  glowing  admiration,  after  describing  the 
sweetness  of  its  waters,  and  the  delicate  temperature  of  its 
air,  its  palms,  and  vines,  and  oranges,  and  figs,  and  almonds, 
and  pomegranates,  and  warm  springs,  says  that  the  seasons 
seemed  to  compete  for  the  honour  of  its  possession,  and 
Nature  to  have  created  it  as  a  kind  of  emulative  challenge, 
wherein  she  had  gathered  all  the  elements  of  her  strength. 
.  .  .  '  The  cities,'  says  Josephus,  '  lie  here  very  thick ; 
and  the  very  numerous  villages  are  so  full  of  people,  because 
of  the  fertility  of  the  land     .     .     .     that  the  very  smallest 

*"  Syria  and  Palestine."  I.,  378,  384. 
t"The  Land  and  the  Book,"  II.,  112. 


124  JUDEA. 

of  them  contain  above  15,000  inhabitants.'  No  less  than 
four  roads  communicated  with  the  shores  of  the  Lake. 
.  .  .  Through  this  district  passed  the  great  caravans  on 
their  way  from  Egypt  to  Damascus."* 

But  Capernaum  shared  largely  in  a  fuller  blessing  than 
trade  or  earthly  fertility  and  beauty  could  bestow.  It  was 
the  home  of  Jesus  during  the  busy  years  of  His  ministry. 
It  was  called  "  His  own  city."  His  was  a  familiar  presence 
in  its  streets.  The  dwellers  there  had  been  spectators  of 
many  a  miracle.  They  had  heard  His  words.  The  mere 
story  of  what  was  said  and  done  there,  carried  to  many 
another  place,  had  touched  the  heart  and  changed  the  life. 
But  Capernaum  was  content  to  behold  and  to  listen,  and 
perhaps  to  admire.  But  no  enduring  touch  of  awe  fell  on 
its  busy,  frivolous,  pleasure-seeking  life.  There  was  no 
turning  from  sin,  no  seeking  after  God. 

But  those  who  refuse  to  flee  remain  to  warn.  The  words 
of  Christ,  "And  thou,  Capernaum,  shalt  thou  be  exalted 
unto  heaven  ?  Thou  shalt  go  down  unto  Hades "  (Matt, 
xi.  23),  stood  inscribed  on  the  page  of  the  gospel  long 
before  Capernaum  had  ceased  to  dream  of  increasing  pros- 
perity. After  the  blow  had  fallen  in  the  Roman  conquests 
of  70  and  135  a.d.  Capernaum,  like  the  rest  of  Galilee, 
revived  again,  and  the  doom  of  extinction  was  for  a  time 
averted.  We  have  references  to  it  for  ages  afterwards.  It 
was  still  a  town  in  the  days  of  Eusebius  and  Jerome.  It 
was  visited  by  Antoninus  Martyr  about  600  a.d.  Bishop 
Arculf,  who  saw  it  100  years  later,  says:  "It  lies  on  a 
narrow  piece  of  ground  between  the  mountain  and  the 
lake.  On  the  shore  towards  the  east  it  extends  a  long  way, 
having  the  mountain  on  the  north  and  the  water  on  the 
south."  Willibald  found  it  inhabited  in  722.  Brocardus, 
writing  near  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  describes  it 
as  "a  humble  village,  containing  scarcely  seven  fishermen's 
huts."  Quaresimus,  who  visited  Palestine  about  1620, 
*  Farrar  :  "  Life  of  Christ,"  L,  174,  178. 


THE   FATE    OF    JERUSALEM.  125 

speaks  of  the  site  as  covered  with  ruins,  but  it  is  open  to 
question  whether  he  did  not  mistake  the  site  of  this  ancient 
city,  and  since  his  day  all  certainty  as  to  the  situation  of 
Capernaum  has  disappeared.  Most  travellers  believe  that  it 
it  is  to  be  found  at  Tell-Hum,  of  which  Bitter  says :  "  The 
whole  place,  taken  in  connection  with  the  great  devestation 
of  the  fairest  decorations  by  the  tooth  of  time,  dashed  by 
the  ripples  of  the  Lake,  and  left  to  no  other  companion- 
ship than  that  of  the  waters,  is  calculated  to  awaken  the 
saddest  feelings  in  the  mind  of  the  traveller."  But  Bobinson, 
both  in  his  earlier  and  later  researches,  contends  that  the 
identification  with  Tell-Hum  is  a  mistake.  There  are 
cities  in  Palestine  from  whose  precincts  the  tide  of  life 
has  not  yet  retired,  but  from  Capernaum  it  has  long  since 
passed  away.  Capernaum  has  gone  down  into  Hades,  and 
men  are  now  unable  to  point  with  absolute  certainty  even 
to  its  grave. 

As  might   be  expected   both    Old   and   New  Testaments 
have  something  to  say  regarding 

JERUSALEM, 

To  those  "who  build  up  Zion  with  blood  and  Jerusalem 
with  iniquity,"  Micah  declared  :  "  Therefore  shall  Zion  for 
your  sakes  be  ploughed  as  a  field,  and  Jerusalem  shall 
become  heaps,  and  the  mountain  of  the  house  as  the  high 
places  of  a  forest"  (iii.  12).  The  words  may  have  been 
fulfilled  during  the  Babylonish  captivity,  though  it  is  most 
improbable  that,  in  that  time,  when  the  remnant  fled  into 
Egypt,  and  the  silence  of  death  fell  upon  the  land,  any 
plough  was  driven  over  the  site  of  the  city  of  David.  But, 
although  there  may  have  been  a  temporary  fulfilment  then, 
the  eye  which  foresaw  that,  foresaw  more.  It  must  have 
looked  on  to  the  time  of  which  that  captivity  and  desola- 
tion were  but  the  warning.  The  description  of  the  rulers, 
too,  as  building  up  Zion  with  blood  and  Jerusalem  with 
iniquity,  never  applied  to  men   more   fully   than    to   those 


126  JUDEA. 

who  shed  the  blood  of  the  Holy  and  Just  One  with  the 
avowed  purpose  of  preserving  the  state  from  Roman  en- 
croachment, and  who  are  painted  on  the  pages  of  Josephus 
as  men  steeped  in  intrigue  and  unscrupulousness,  whose 
almost  daily  pathway  was  one  of  robbery  and  murder. 

Taking  the  words  then  as  prophetic  of  the  great  judg- 
ment on  the  Jewish  people,  is  there  anything  in  the  present 
condition  of  the  city  to  show  that  we  have  not  mistaken 
their  application1?  The  reply  is  that  they  are  the  best 
of  all  possible  descriptions.  There  are  three  things 
mentioned. 

MOUNT    MORIAH, 

"the  mountain  of  the  House,"  whose  top  was  levelled  to 
make  a  site  for  the  Temple,  was  to  become  as  "the  high 
places  of  a  foeest."  This  level  space  is,  as  will  be 
readily  understood,  of  very  limited  extent.  Yet  part  of 
this  limited  area  is  covered  with  trees.  "South  of  the  Mosque 
of  Omar  there  is  a  space  350  feet  in  extent  filled  with 
lofty  cypresses  and  other  trees."  *  The  mountain  of  the 
House,  once  covered  with  all  that  gave  magnificence,  and 
beauty,  and  sacredness  to  Jerusalem,  has  become  like  the 
high  places  of  a  forest. 

Then  Jekusalem  with  its  homes  and  palaces 

WAS    TO    BECOME    HEAPS. 

The  Holy  City,  though  still  inhabited,  has  only  about  one 
seventh  of  its  ancient  population,  and  we  have  already 
referred  to  its  ruined  condition.  We  are  prepared,  there- 
fore, for  a  confirmation  of  this  prediction  also;  but  it  is 
startling  to  find  that  Hitter,  in  his  description  of  the  present 
condition  of  the  city,  unconsciously  repeats  the  words  of 
the  prediction.  He  says :  "  Entering  the  city,  the  piles  of 
rubbish  and  the  narrow  streets  compel  us  to  recognise  the 

*"Ritter's  Palestine,"  IV.,  121. 


THE    FATE    OF    JERUSALEM.  127 

fact  that  it  is  no  longer  a  royal  capital,  princely  in  its 
magnificence,  but  a  squalid  town,  which  shows  only  too 
plainly  its  humiliation  and  poverty.  As  a  recent  traveller 
has  truly  and  beautifully  said,  to  him  who  does  not  see  this 
city  with  the  eye  of  faith,  and  who,  amid  all  the  strife 
which  now  divides  the  church,  does  not  look  forward  to 
the  glorious  triumph  which  awaits  it,  Jerusalem  is  only  a 
little  eastern  city  covered  with  wrecks  of  past  desolation,  suffer- 
ing under  want  and  oppression,  and  from  which  the  casual 
traveller  hastens  as  rapidly  as  possible.  But  the  classic 
ground,  with  its  history  extending  over  thousands  of  years, 
remains,  under  all  its  rubbish  and  ruins,  still  classic* 

The  remaining  part  of  the  prediction  has  been  as  wonder- 
fully accomplished.     Zion  is  even  now 

PLOUGHED    LIKE    A    FIELD. 

"Only  the  northern  portion  of  Zion  is  included  in  the 
modern  walls;  and  this  is  occupied  chiefly  by  the  Jewish 
quarter,  and  by  the  great  Armenian  convent.  .  .  With- 
out the  walls  the  level  part  of  Zion  is  occupied  by  the 
Christian  cemeteries,  the  house  of  Caiaphas  (now  an  Arme- 
nian Convent),  the  Ccenaculum,  or  Muslim  tomb  of  David, 
and  the  adjacent  convent,  formerly  a  Latin  convent.  The 
rest  of  the  surface  is  now  tilled,  and  the  city  of  David  has 
become  a  ploughed  field !  The  eastern  slope  is  likewise 
in  part  cultivated."  f  "  Mount  Zion,"  says  Dr.  Thomson,  "is 
now  for  the  most  part  a  rough  field.  .  .  From  the  tomb  of  David 
I  passed  on  through  fields  of  ripe  grain.  The  whole  of  the 
hill  here  is  under  cultivation,  and  presents  a  most  literal  ful- 
filment of  Micah's  prophecy :  "  Therefore  shall  Zion  for 
your  sake  be  ploughed  as  a  field."  It  is  the  only  part  of 
Jerusalem  "  that  is  now,  or  ever  has  been,  ploughed."  J 

There  are  also  predictions   regarding   the   sacred   city   in 
the    New    Testament,    and,    with    a    word    on    these,    we 

*  Robinson  "Researches  in  Palestine,"  L,  264,  265.     fibid.  98. 
X  "  The  Land  and  the  Book,"  L,  410,  539,  540. 


1 28  JUDEA. 

shall  close  our  survey  of  the  predictions  which  refer  to  the 
Land  of  Israel.  Pointing  to  the  Temple,  our  Lord  said  to 
His  disciples,  "See  ye  not  all  these  things?  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  there  shall  not  be  left  here  one  stone  upon 
another  that  shall  not  be  thrown  down"  (Matt.  xxiv.  2). 
And  again,  "Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  of  the 
Gentiles,  until  the  time  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled"  (Luke 
xxi.  24).     The  first  of  these  prophecies  foretells 

THE    ANNIHILATION    OF    THE    TEMPLE. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  was 
written  sometime  between  50  and  60  a.d.  In  the  year  70 
the  first  stroke  of  the  judgment  fell.  One  of  the  very  last 
incidents  in  that  terrible  siege  was  the  destruction  of  the 
Temple  by  fire.  Josephus  records  that  the  burning  of  the 
sanctuary  was  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  Titus,  and  was 
carried  out  in  defiance  of  his  express  commands.  It  might 
have  been  supposed,  then,  that  a  stay  would  have  been  put 
to  any  further  work  of  destruction.  The  blackened  walls 
might  have  been  allowed  to  stand.  But  the  word  of  the 
Lord  is  sure.  Orders  were  issued  to  raze  the  entire  city, 
with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  towers  and  a  portion  of 
the  wall.  These  were  spared  to  show  to  after  times  what 
the  strength  of  Jerusalem  had  been,  and  what  the  Roman 
triumph  meant.  "Terentius  Rufus,"  says  Milman,  "ex- 
ecuted the  work  of  desolation,  of  which  he  was  left  in 
charge,  with  unrelenting  severity.  Of  all  the  stately  city, 
the  populous  streets,  the  palaces  of  the  Jewish  Kings,  the 
fortresses  of  her  warriors,  the  Temple  of  her  God,  not  a 
ruin  remained,  except  the  tall  towers  of  Phasaelis,  Mariamne, 
and  Hippicus,  and  part  of  the  western  wall,  which  was  left 
as  a  defence  for  the  Roman  camp." #  The  work  was 
completed  on  the  suppression  of  the  last  rebellion 
under  Barcochebas  in  135  a.d.  The  very  foundations 
of  the  Temple  seem  then  to  have  been  torn  up  and 
♦"History  of  the  Jews,"  II.,  377,  378. 


ATTEMPT    TO    REBUILD    THE    TEMPLE.  129 

the  plough  to  have  been  passed  over  them.  Before  the 
Temple  to  Jupiter  Capitolinus  was  reared  upon  its  site  by 
the  Emperor  Hadrian,  there  remained  of  the  buildings  to 
which  our  Lord  that  day  pointed,  not  one  stone  upon 
another  which  was  not  thrown  down. 

The  remaining  prophecy  depicts  the  then 

FUTURE  HISTORY  OF  JERUSALEM 

in  one  brief  sentence.  Every  one  is  aware  that  the  city, 
whose  very  name  is  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  Jew,  has 
been  "trodden  down."  Nor  need  we  search  the  pages  of 
history  to  prove  that  its  lords  and  possessors  have  been  the 
Gentiles.  Never  once,  since  the  days  of  Hadrian,  has  the 
Jew  ruled  in  the  city  of  his  fathers.  There  were  times 
when  it  was  death  for  him  to  enter  it,  or  indeed  to  approach 
near  enough  to  behold  it  from  a  distance.  The  presence 
of  the  Jew  is  barely  tolerated  even  now,  and  the  voice 
of  one  Arab  woman  is  enough  to  frighten  away  bearded 
men  from  the  place  of  wailing.  The  prophecy  states 
further  that  the  Gentile  oppression  should  continue  till 
judgment  should  also  visit  them,  and  "the  time  of  the 
Gentiles"  should  be  fulfilled.  This  prediction  is  remark- 
able for  a  deliberate  and  powerful  attempt,  which  was 
made  to  defeat  it,  and  so  to  disprove  the  claims  of  Jesus. 
The  Emperor  Julian,  in  his  attempt  to  dethrone  Christianity, 
and  to  reinstate  the  ancient  paganism,  hit  upon  the  device 
of  restoring  the  Jews  and  re-building  the  Temple.  We 
shall  let  Gibbon  tell  the  story.  "He  resolved  to  erect, 
without  delay,  on  the  commanding  eminence  of  Moriah,  a 
stately  temple,  which  might  eclipse  the  splendour  of  the 
church  of  the  Resurrection  on  the  adjacent  hill  of  Calvary ; 
to  establish  an  order  of  priests,  whose  interested  zeal  would 
detect  the  arts,  and  resist  the  ambition  of  their  Christian 
rivals;  and  to  invite  a  numerous  colony  of  Jews,  whose 
stern  fanaticism  would  be  always  prepared  to  second,  and 
even    to    anticipate,    the    hostile    measures    of    the    Pagan 

i 


130  JUDEA. 

government.  Among  the  friends  of  the  Emperor  (if  the 
names  of  Emperor  and  of  friend  are  not  incompatible), 
the  first  place  was  assigned  by  Julian  himself  to  the  virtuous 
and  learned  Alypius.  The  humanity  of  Alypius  was 
tempered  by  severe  justice  and  manly  fortitude ;  and,  while 
he  exercised  his  abilities  in  the  civil  administration  of 
Britain,  he  imitated,  in  his  poetical  compositions,  the 
harmony  and  softness  of  the  odes  of  Sappho.  This  minister, 
to  whom  Julian  communicated  without  reserve  his  most 
careless  levities  and  his  most  serious  counsels,  received  an 
extraordinary  commission  to  restore  in  its  pristine  beauty 
the  Temple  of  Jerusalem;  and  the  diligence  of  Alypius 
required  and  obtained  the  strenuous  support  of  the  governor 
of  Palestine.  At  the  call  of  their  great  deliverer  the  Jews, 
from  all  the  provinces  of  the  Empire,  assembled  on  the 
holy  mountain  of  their  fathers,  and  their  insolent  triumph 
alarmed  and  exasperated  the  Christian  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem.  The  desire  of  re-building  the  Temple  has,  in 
every  age,  been  the  ruling  passion  of  the  children  of  Israel. 
In  this  propitious  moment  the  men  forgot  their  avarice, 
and  the  women  their  delicacy;  spades  and  pickaxes  of 
silver  were  provided  by  the  vanity  of  the  rich,  and  the 
rubbish  was  transported  in  mantles  of  silk  and  purple. 
Every  purse  was  opened  in  liberal  contributions,  every  hand 
claimed  a  share  in  the  pious  labour;  and  the  commands  of 
a  great  monarch  were  executed  by  the  enthusiasm  of  a 
whole  people. 

"Yet,  on  this  occasion,  the  joint  efforts  of  power  and 
enthusiasm  ivere  unsuccessful;  and  the  ground  of  the  Jewish 
Temple,  which  is  now  covered  by  a  Mahometan  Mosque, 
still  continued  to  exhibit  the  same  edifying  spectacle  of 
ruin  and  desolation.  .  .  An  earthquake,  a  whirlwind, 
and  a  fiery  irruption,  which  overturned  and  scattered  the 
new  foundations  of  the  Temple,  are  attested,  with  some 
variations,  by  contemporary  and  respectable  evidence. 
This   public    event    is    described    by    Ambrose,    bishop    of 


ATTEMPT  TO  REBUILD  THE  TEMPLE.         131 

Milan,  in  an  epistle  to  the  Emperor  Theodosius,  which 
must  provoke  the  severe  animadversion  of  the  Jews;  by 
the  eloquent  Chrysostom,  who  might  appeal  to  the  memory 
of  the  elder  part  of  his  congregation  at  Antioch ;  and  by 
Gregory  Nazianzen,  who  published  his  account  of  the  miracle 
before  the  expiration  of  the  same  year.  The  last  of  these 
writers  has  boldly  declared  that  this  preternatural  event 
was  not  disputed  by  the  infidels ;  and  his  assertion,  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  is  confirmed  by  the  unexceptionable  testi- 
mony of  Ammianus  Marcellinus.  The  philosophic  soldier, 
who  loved  the  virtues,  without  adopting  the  prejudices,  of 
his  master,  has  recorded,  in  his  candid  and  judicious  history 
of  his  own  times,  the  extraordinary  obstacles  which  inter- 
rupted the  restoration  of  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  'Whilst 
Alypius,  assisted  by  the  governor  of  the  province,  urged 
with  vigour  and  diligence  the  execution  of  the  work, 
horrible  balls  of  fire  breaking  out  near  the  foundations, 
with  frequent  and  reiterated  attacks,  rendered  the  place 
from  time  to  time  inaccessible  to  the  scorched  and  blasted 
workmen ;  and  the  victorious  element  continuing  in  this 
manner  obstinately  and  resolutely  bent,  as  it  were,  to  drive 
them  to  a  distance,  the  undertaking  was  abandoned ! ' "  * 

Gibbon  doubts  the  miracle.  "At  this  important  crisis," 
he  says  truly  enough,  "any  singular  accident  of  nature 
would  assume  the  appearance,  and  produce  the  effects,  of 
a  real  prodigy."  Michaelis  ventured  the  suggestion  that 
the  flames  may  have  been  due  to  the  ignition  of  foul  air 
generated  in  the  caverns  by  which  the  Temple  area  is 
known  to  be  undermined.  But,  whatever  the  explanation 
may  be,  the  fact  is  undoubted  that  the  attempt  was  made  to 
defeat  the  prophecy,  and  that  the  attempt  failed.  Neither 
the  strength  and  resolute  determination  of  the  Roman 
legions,  nor  the  enthusiasm  and  outpoured  wealth  of  the 
Jews  were  able  to  bring  this  "word  of  the  Lord"  to 
nought. 
*  "  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire, "chap,  xxiii. 


132 


BABYLON. 


We  conclude  the  present   chapter  with  a  glance   at  the 
testimony  of 

BABYLONIA, 

the  scene  not  only  of  the  captivity  of  the  Jews,  but  also 
of  the  events  which  broke  the  unity  of  our  race,  and 
scattered  its  fragments  over  the  earth.  Of  Babylon,  the 
capital, 

THE   MOST  APPALLING    DESOLATION 

was  foretold.  "And  Babylon,  the  glory  of  kingdoms,  the 
'beauty  of  the  Chaldeans'  excellency,  shall  be  as  when 
God  overthrew  Sodom  and  Gomorrah"  (Isa.  xiii.  19).  At 
the  beginning  of  our  era  the  work  of  destruction  had  been 
begun,  but  was  by  no  means  perfected.  When  captured 
by  Alexander,  Babylon  was  still  great,  and  it  is  said  the 
conqueror  intended  to  make  it  the  capital  of  his  dominions. 
Alexander's  successors  did  not,  however,  carry  out  his 
intention.  In  300  b.c.  Seleucia  was  built,  and  the  glory 
of  Babylon  was  gradually  transferred  to  her  rival.  About 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  only  a  small  part  of 
Babylon  was  inhabited ;  and  that  chiefly,  if  not  wholly,  by 
Jews  :  the  rest  of  the  city  was  under  cultivation.  About 
the  year  40  a.d.  a  persecution  of  the  Jews  under  Caligula 
still  further  diminished  the  number  of  the  inhabitants. 
Lucian,  in  the  second  century,  predicts  that  its  very  site, 
like  that  of  Nineveh,  would  soon  be  a  subject  of  investiga- 
tion. A  number  of  notices,  by  various  writers,  enables  us 
to  trace  the  history  of  the  desolation.  Jerome,  writing 
about  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century,  says  that  the 
site  of  Babylon  was  made  into  a  hunting-ground  for  the 
Persian  Kings;  and  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  about  412,  mentions 
that  the  canals  from  the  Euphrates  had  been  filled  up,  and 
that  the  city  was  then  little  better  than  a  marsh.  In  460 
Theodoret  remarks  that  it  was  no  longer  inhabited  by  either 


ITS    DESOLATION.  133 

Assyrians  or  Chaldseans,  and  that  only  a  few  Jews  had  their 
habitations  scattered  among  the  ruins.  Ibn  Haukal,  in 
917,  speaks  of  Babel  as  a  small  village,  and  says  that 
scarcely  any  remains  of  Babylon  were  to  be  seen;  and 
when,  in  the  twelfth  century,  Benjamin  of  Tudela  passed 
through  Chaldsea,  the  ancient  capital  was  an  utter  desola- 
tion, and  the  ruins  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  palace  were  in- 
accessible, owing  to  the  number  of  scorpions  and  serpents 
by  which  they  were  infested. 

The  desolation,  it  was  foretold,  should  be 

UTTER   AND    LASTING  : 

"It  shall  never  be  inhabited,  neither  shall  it  be  dwelt  in 
from  generation  to  generation :  neither  shall  the  Arabian 
pitch  tent  there;  neither  shall  the  shepherds  make  their 
flocks  to  lie  down  there"  (Isa.  xiii.  20).  We  have  seen 
how  the  ocean  of  human  life  gradually  receded  from  this 
vast  city,  once  the  home  of  countless  multitudes.  Wave 
after  wave  rushed  back  from  the  retiring  waters,  as  if 
resolved  to  cling  to  the  ancient  habitations ;  but  the  hand 
of  doom  was  mightier,  and  every  remnant  of  its  once  busy, 
joyous  life  has  long  since  passed  away.  Hillah,  six  miles 
south-west  of  Babylon,  which  marks  the  site  of  the  ancient 
town  where  the  plebeians  dwelt  apart,  has  a  population  of 
6,000;  but  not  one  human  dwelling  rests  upon  the  site  of 
the  ancient  city, — the  glory  of  the  Chaldseans'  excellency. 
The  Bedouin,  though  he  pasture  his  flocks  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood,  regards  the  ruins  themselves  with  super- 
stitious dread,  and  the  latter  part  of  the  prediction  is  also 
fulfilled  to  the  very  letter.  The  tents  of  the  Arabs  are  freely 
pitched  on  the  Chaldsean  plains,  but  not  one  of  them  is 
pitched  amid  the  ruins  of  Babylon.  Other  cities  named  in 
prophecy  have  become  folds  for  flocks;  but  no  shepherd 
makes  his  flocks  to  lie  down  among  the  mounds  of  ancient 
Babylon.  Ruined  cities  frequently  afford  in  the  remnants 
of  their  walls  protection  for  flock  and  shepherd  of   which 


134  BABYLON. 

advantage  is  eagerly  taken.  But  "on  the  actual  ruins  of 
Babylon  the  Arabian  neither  pitches  his  tent  nor  pastures 
his  flocks — in  the  first  place,  because  the  nitrous  soil  produces 
no  pasture  to  tempt  him;  and  secondly,  because  an  evil 
reputation  attaches  to  the  entire  site,  which  is  thought  to  be 
the  haunt  of  evil  spirits."  * 

But  a  deeper  humiliation  was  to  be  inflicted.  Something 
is  said  about  those  who  should  dwell  within  its  precincts. 
The 

TENANTS 

of  the  ruined  city  are  described.  "But  wild  beasts  of  the 
desert  shall  lie  there ;  and  their  houses  shall  be  full  of  dole- 
ful creatures;  and  ostriches  shall  dwell  there,  and  satyrs 
shall  dance  there.  And  the  wolves  shall  cry  in  their  castles, 
and  jackals  in  the  pleasant  palaces"  (Isa.  xiii.  21,  22). 
This  feature  of  the  desolation  has  been  noted  by  every 
traveller.  In  carrying  excavations  into  the  great  mound  of 
Babil,  Layard  came  upon  some  coffins  containing  skeletons. 
"A  foul  and  unbearable  stench,"  he  says,  "issued  from 
those  loathsome  remains,  and  from  the  passages,  ivhich  had 
become  the  dens  of  wild  beasts,  which  had  worked  their  way 
into  them  from  above."  And  the  "doleful  creatures  are 
not  wanting."  "Owls  start  from  the  scanty  thickets,  and 
the  foul  jackal  skulks  through  the  furrows."  "The  mound 
was  full  of  large  holes ;  we  entered  some  of  them,  and  found 
them  strewed  with  the  carcases  and  skeletons  of  animals 
recently  killed."  f  Speaking  of  the  Birs  Nimroud,  Heeren 
says,  "Its  recesses  are  inhabited  by  lions,  three  being 
quietly  basking  on  its  heights  when  Porter  approached  it, 
and,  scarcely  intimidated  by  the  cries  of  the  Arabs,  gradually 
and  slowly  descended  into  the  plain."     Then 

THE    ASPECT 

the  place  should  wear  was  described  while  it  was  yet  in  its 
*  Rawlinson  :  "  Egypt  and  Babylon,"  206.     +  Keppel. 


ITS    DESOLATION.  135 

glory  :  "  Babylon  shall  become  heaps  "  (Jer.  li.  37).  Were 
it  not  that  we  are  in  the  midst  of  surpassing  wonders,  it 
would  be  in  the  highest  degree  astonishing  to  mark  how 
travellers  are  here  compelled  to  use  the  very  words  of 
Scripture.  "  The  wide  extent"  says  one,  "  of  mounds  and 
vestiges  of  buildings  must  arrest  the  attention  of  every 
beholder ;  who,  at  the  same  time,  will  not  fail  to  remark 
how  little  the  shapeless  heaps  can  suggest  in  any  degree 
either  the  nature  or  object  of  the  structures  of  which  they 
are  the  wrecks."  *  "  The  ruins,"  remarks  another,  "  are 
mounds  formed  by  the  decomposition  of  buildings,  chan- 
nelled and  furrowed  by  the  weather,  and  strewed  with 
pieces  of  brick,  bitumen,  and  pottery.  .  .  I  imagined  I 
should  have  said,  '  Here  were  the  walls,  and  such  must 
have  been  the  extent  of  the  area ;  there  stood  the  palace ; 
and  this  most  assuredly  was  the  temple  of  Belus.'  I  was 
completely  deceived :  instead  of  a  few  insulated  mounds,  I 
found  the  whole  face  of  the  country  covered  with  vestiges  of 
buildings,  in  some  places  consisting  of  brick  walls  surpris- 
ingly fresh,  in  others,  merely  of  a  vast  succession  of  mounds 
of  rubbish  of  such  indeterminate  figures,  variety,  and  extent, 
as  to  involve  the  person  who  should  have  formed  any  theory 
in  inextricable  confusion."  f  It  is  impossible  to  find,  in  the 
whole  range  of  language,  a  term  which  will  more  fitly  describe 
the  present  condition  of  the  city  than  this  used  in  the 
prophecy  :  Babylon  has  become  heaps. 

Other  details  are  added.  "  A  curious  feature  in  the  pro- 
phecies," says  Professor  Rawlinson,  "  is  the  apparent  contra- 
diction that  exists  between  two  sets  of  statements  contained 
in  them,  one  of  which  attributes  the  desolation  of  Babylon  to 
the  action  of  water,  while  the  other  represents  the  water  as 
'  dried  up,'  and  the  site  as  cursed  with  drought  and  barren- 
ness. To  the  former  class  belong  the  statements  of  Isaiah : 
'I  will  also  make  it  a  possession  for  the  bittern,  and  pools 
of  water'  (xiv.  23);  and  'the  cormorant  (pelican1?),  and 
*  Fraser's  "  Mesopotamia  and' Assyria."         f  Rich. 


136  BABYLON. 

the  bittern  shall  possess  it'  (xxxiv.  11);  together  with  the 
following  passage  of  Jeremiah,  'The  sea  is  come  up  upon 
Babylon;  she  is  covered  with  the  multitude  of  the  waves 
thereof '  (li.  42) ;  to  the  latter  such  declarations  as  the 
subjoined,  lA  drought  is  upon  her  waters,  and  they  shall 
be  dried  up'  (Jer.  1.  38) ;  'I  will  dry  up  her  sea'  (li.  36); 
1  Her  cities  are  a  desolation,  a  dry  land  and  a  desert '  (1.  12) ; 
1  Come  down  and  sit  in  the  dust,  O  virgin  daughter  of 
Babylon'"  (Isa.  xlvii.  1). 

"But  this  antithesis,  this  paradox,  is  exactly  in  accord- 
ance with  the  condition  of  things  which  travellers  note  as 
to  this  day  attaching  to  the  site.  The  dry,  arid  aspect  of 
the  ruins,  of  the  vast  mounds  which  cover  the  greater 
buildings,  and  even  of  the  lesser  elevations  which  spread 
far  into  the  plain  at  their  base,  receives  continual  notice. 
1  The  whole  surface  of  the  mounds  appears  to  the  eye,'  says 
Ker  Porter,  '  nothing  but  vast  irregular  hills  of  earth.  .  .  . 
while  the  foot  at  every  step  sinks  into  the  loose  dust  and 
rubbish.*  And  again,  'Every  spot  of  ground  in  sight  was 
totally  barren.  .  .  .  It  is  an  old  adage  that,  where  a 
curse  has  fallen,  grass  will  never  grow.  In  like  manner 
the  decomposing  materials  of  a  Babylonian  structure  doom 
the  earth  on  which  they  perish  to  an  everlasting  sterility.' 
1  On  all  sides,'  says  Sir  Austen  Layard,  '  fragments  of  glass, 
marble,  pottery,  and  inscribed  brick  are  mingled  with  that 
peculiar  nitrous  and  blanched  soil  which,  bred  from  the  re- 
mains of  ancient  habitations,  checks  or  destroys  vegetation, 
and  renders  the  site  of  Babylon  a  naked  and  hideous  waste.'' 

"  On  the  other  hand,  the  neglect  of  the  embankments 
and  canals  which  anciently  controlled  the  waters  of  the 
Euphrates,  and  made  them  a  defence  and  not  a  danger, 
has  consigned  great  part  of  what  was  anciently  Babylon  to 
the  continual  invasion  of  floods,  which,  stagnating  in  the 
lower  grounds,  have  converted  large  tracts  once  included 
within  the  walls  of  the  city  into  lakes,  pools,  and  marshes."* 
*  "  Egypt  and  Babylon,"  207,  209. 


ITS    DESOLATION.  137 

And,  not  only  have  the  prophecies  pictured  the  aspect 
of  Babylon,  they  have  also  described 

THE     PROCESS 

by  which  its  edifices  have  been  turned  into  dust.  "Cast 
her  up  as  heaps,"  cries  the  prophet  to  the  men  of  the  then 
far-distant  future, — "cast  her  up  as  heaps,  and  destroy  her 
utterly:  let  nothing  of  her  be  left"  (Jer.  1.  26).  The 
tearing  down  of  the  ruins  has  been  continued  for  centuries. 
The  bricks,  even  at  this  late  date,  are  so  excellent  in  quality, 
that  the  shape  of  the  mounds  is  being  continually  altered 
by  the  excavations  which  are  made  for  them.  "El  Kasr, 
when  visited  by  Rich,  was  nearly  a  square  of  seven  hundred 
yards  in  length  and  breadth.  But  even  in  the  seven  years 
which  intervened  between  this  visit  and  that  of  Porter,  the 
everlasting  digging  and  carrying  aivay  of  the  bricks,  had  been 
sufficient  to  change  its  shape.  What  then  must  have  been 
its  size  twenty  centuries  before !  .  .  .  About  twenty- 
four  hundred  feet  from  Kasr  is  Amram  Hill.  The  whole 
of  this  stupendous  heap  is  broken  like  that  of  the  Kasr  into 
deep  caverned  ravines  and  long  winding  furrows,  from  the 
number  of  bricks  that  have  been  taken  away."*  "To  this 
day,"  says  Layard,  "  there  are  men  who  have  no  other  trade 
than  that  of  gathering  bricks  from  this  vast  heap,  and 
taking  them  for  sale  to  the  neighbouring  towns  and  villages, 
and  even  to  Baghdad.  There  is  scarcely  a  house  in  Hillah 
which  is  not  built  of  them." 

And  the  Scripture  takes  us  further  still.  It  foretells  that, 
while  her  mounds  should  be  "cast  up  as  heaps"  in  the 
search  for  building  material, 

STONES   SHOULD    BE    DESTROYED. 

"There  is   one   fact,"  says   Mr.    Rassam,    "connected   with 

the  destruction  of  Babylon  and  the  marvellous  fulfilment  of 

prophecy  which  struck  me  more  than  anything  else,  which 

*  Heeren. 


138  BABYL0X. 

fact  seems  never  to  have  been  noticed  by  any  traveller,  and 
that  is  the  non-existence  in  the  several  modern  buildings 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Babylon  of  any  sign  of  stone 
which  had  been  dug  up  from  its  ancient  ruins.  It  seems 
that,  in  digging  for  old  materials,  the  Arabs  used  the  bricks 
for  building  purposes,  but  always  burnt  the  stone  thus  dis- 
covered for  lime,  which  fact  wonderfully  fulfils  the  Divine 
words  of  Jeremiah,  namely :  '  And  they  shall  not  take  of 
thee  a  stone  for  a  corner,  nor  a  stone  for  foundations : 
but  thou  shalt  be  desolate  for  ever,  saith  the  Lord' 
(Jer.  li.  26)."  When  we  reflect  that  these  stones  were 
brought  from  far  (for  no  stone  is  furnished  by  the  vast  plain 
of  Babylonia),  and  must  have  been  in  a  special  degree  the 
pride  of  the  great  city,  we  understand  the  significance  of 
the  doom.  All  her  beauty  and  magnificence  were  to  perish 
without  memorial. 

We  cannot  conclude  this  hurried  notice  of  Babylon, 
without  remarking,  what  is  certainly  not  the  least  surprising 
of  its  testimonies  to  the  Scripture — the  fulfilment  of  the 
words :  "  Behold,  I  am  against  thee,  O  destroying  moun- 
tain, saith  the  Lord,  which  destroyest  all  the  earth :  and  I 
will  stretch  out  mine  hand  upon  thee,  and  roll  thee  down 
from  the  rocks,  and  will  make  thee 

A    BURNT    MOUNTAIN" 

(Jer.  li.  25).  Babylonia  is  an  immense  plain  in  which  no 
natural  mountain  or  hill  has  ever  stood.  And  yet  Babylon 
must  have  presented  some  feature  which  gave  the  epithet, 
"destroying  mountain,"  propriety  and  force.  If  there 
existed  some  stupendous  structure  which  was  in  a  peculiar 
way  the  confidence  of  this  people,  the  figure  would  be 
explained  at  once.  If  around  and  upon  such  a  height  the 
temples  of  their  deities  were  placed,  and  the  height  itself 
was  consecrated  by  the  most  ancient  and  sacred  traditions, 
we  could  understand  why  the  threat  against  the  city  and 
the  nation  should  be  addressed  to  this,  and  why  it  should 


ITS    DESOLATION.  139 

bear  some  special  mark  of  His  displeasure,  who  will  not 
give  His  glory  to  another,  nor  His  praise  to  graven  images. 
An  inscription  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  has  been  found  which 
relates  how  he  repaired  and  splendidly  adorned  what  he 
names  "the  Tower  of  the  seven  stages,  the  Eternal  House, 
the  Temple  of  the  seven  luminaries  of  the  Earth."  "The 
discovery  of  this  inscription  points  out  to  us,  among  the 
ruins  still  lifting  their  heads  around  the  site  of  ancient 
Babylon,  the  still  gigantic  remains  of  a  monument  which, 
in  the  days  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  was  believed  to  be  the 
tower  of  Babel.  It  is  this  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country  still  call  'Birs  Nimrod'  ('the  Tower  of  Nimrod'), 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  plains  it  still  looks  like  a  mountain."* 
It  was  described  by  Herodotus.  There  was,  first  of  all, 
"a  tower  of  solid  masonry,  a  furlong  in  length  and  breadth." 
Upon  this,  "was  raised  a  second  tower,  and  on  that  a  third, 
and  so  on  up  to  eight.  The  ascent  to  the  top  is  on  the 
outside,  by  a  path  which  winds  round  all  the  towers. 
When  one  is  about  half-way  up,  one  finds  a  resting-place 
and  seats  where  persons  are  wont  to  sit  some  time  on  their 
way  to  the  summit.  This  vast  structure  was  dedicated  to 
Bel,  the  chief  deity  of  the  Babylonians,  and  the  supposed 
favour  of  this  deity  gave  Babylon  a  sacredness  even  in  the 
estimation  of  the  neighbouring  nations.  It  is  named  in 
Assyrian  inscriptions  "the  dwelling-place  of  Bel."  "The 
earth  about  the  hill  is  now  clear,  but  is  again  surrounded 
by  walls  which  form  an  oblong  square,  enclosing  numerous 
heaps  of  rubbish,  probably  once  the  dwellings  of  the 
inferior  deities,  or  of  the  priests  and  officers  of  the  Temple. 
The  appearance  of  the  tower  of  Nimrod  is  sublime  even  in 
its  ruin.  Clouds  play  round  its  summit."  f  Recall  now 
the  words,  "I  will  roll  thee  down  from  the  rocks,  and  will 
make  thee  a  burnt  mountain,"  and  place  by  the  side  of 
them  these,  "It  is  rent  from  the  top  nearly  half-way  to  the 

*Lenormant(it  may  bewell  to  say  that  in  using  this  simile  Lenormant 
has  not  the  remotest  reference  to  the  prophecy  before  us),     t  Heeren. 


1 40  BABYLON. 

bottom ;  and  at  its  foot  lay  several  unsliapen  masses  of  fine 
brickwork,  still  bearing  traces  of  a  violent  fire,  which  has 
given  them  a  vitrified  appearance,  whence  it  has  been 
conjectured  that  it  has  been  struck  by  lightning.  The 
appearance  of  the  hill  on  the  eastern  side  evidently  shows 
that  this  enormous  mass  has  been  reduced  more  than  half."  * 
It  has  been  rolled  down  from  the  rocks,  and  been  made  a 
burnt  mountain  ! 

We  glance,  in  conclusion,  at  Chaldsea,  the  country  of 
which  Babylon  was  the  mighty  capital.  The  Chaldseans 
had  spoiled  many  nations,  and  many  thrones  had  gone 
down  before  them.  But  a  day  of  vengeance  was  to  come. 
She  was  to  be 

THE    PREY   OF    MANY    NATIONS. 

The  judgment  was  recorded :  "  Many  nations  and  great 
kings  shall  serve  themselves  of  them  also :  and  I  will 
recompense  them  according  to  their  deeds"  (Jer.  xxv.  14). 
The  following  brief  sketch  of  their  history  will  show  how 
the  words  were  kept.  Babylonia  was  the  prey  first  of  the 
Medes  and  the  Persians ;  then,  about  three  hundred  years 
before  the  time  of  our  Lord,  of  the  Macedonians  under 
Alexander  and  his  successors ;  then  of  the  Parthians ;  and 
afterwards,  from  time  to  time,  of  the  Romans.  For  two 
centuries,  from  636  a.d.,  it  was  held  by  the  Arabs.  In 
1218  it  was  desolated  by  the  Tartars  under  Zingis.  "From 
the  Caspian  to  the  Indus  they  ruined  a  tract  of  many 
hundred  miles,  which  was  adorned  with  the  habitations 
and  labours  of  mankind;  and  five  centuries  have  not  been 
sufficient  to  repair  the  ravages  of  four  years."  f  For  a  time 
the  country  was  in  the  hands  of  the  assassins,  who  were 
overthrown  and  succeeded  by  Holagou  Khan,  the  grandson 
of  Zingis,  in  1258.  "I  shall  not  enumerate,"  says  Gibbon, 
"  the  crowd  of  sultans,  emirs,  and  atabeks  whom  he  trampled 
into  dust."  In  1380  it  was  conquered  by  Tamerlane,  who 
*  Heeren.  t  Gibbon. 


THE  PREY  OF  MANY  NATIONS.  141 

erected  on  the  ruins  of  Baghdad  a  pyramid  of  ninety- 
thousand  heads.  Since  then  it  has  passed  from  the  grasp 
of  one  fierce  race  into  that  of  another.  The  prophecy  is 
simply  the  summary  of  Chaldsea's  history  :  "  Many  nations 
and  great  kings  shall  serve  themselves  of  them  also :  and 
I  will  recompense  them  according  to  their  deeds." 
It  was  also  written  that  all  should  find 

AN    ABUNDANT    SPOIL. 

"All  that  spoil  her  shall  be  satisfied"  (Jer.  1.  10).  The 
teeming  riches  of  the  soil  and  the  position  of  the  country, 
which  forced  upon  it  a  chief  share  in  the  world's  commerce, 
seemed  to  bid  defiance  to  the  ravages  of  man.  No  sooner 
did  a  fresh  horde  of  conquerors  settle  down  upon  the  land 
than  it  heaped  its  treasures  upon  them  till  they  too  were 
ready  for  the  spoiler.  Gibbon  has  painted  the  joy  of  the 
Arabs  at  their  sudden  enrichment  here  in  636,  little  thinking 
how  every  word  he  penned  was  bowing  before  the  predic- 
tion, "All  that  spoil  her  shall  be  satisfied."  "The  naked 
robbers  of  the  desert,"  he  says,  "were  suddenly  enriched 
beyond  the  measure  of  their  hope  or  knowledge.  Each 
chamber  revealed  a  new  treasure,  secreted  with  art,  or 
ostentatiously  displayed;  the  gold  and  silver,  the  various 
wardrobes  and  precious  furniture  surpassed  (says  Abulfeda) 
the  estimate  of  fancy  or  of  numbers ;  and  another  historian 
defines  the  untold  and  almost  infinite  mass  by  the  fabulous 
computation  of  three  thousands  of  thousands  of  thousands 
of  pieces  of  gold." 

There  was,  last  of  all,  a  prophecy  which  stood  in  the 
most  complete  contradiction  to  the  character  of  the  country 
for  centuries  after  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era. 

The  entire 

LAND    WAS    TO     BE    A    DESOLATION. 

Among  the  most  fertile  and  populous  of  all  countries,  it 
was  to  be  among  the  most  barren  and  desolate.     "How  is 


142  BABYLON. 

the  hammer  of  the  whole  earth  cut  asunder  and  broken ! 
how  is  Babylon  become  a  desolation  among  the  nations ! " 
(Jer.  1.  23).  "Her  cities  are  a  desolation,  a  dry  land,  and 
a  wilderness,  a  land  wherein  no  man  dwelleth,  neither  doth 
any  son  of  man  pass  thereby"  (Jer.  li.  43).  The  wealth 
of  the  soil  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact  that,  though 
Babylonia  and  the  rest  of  Assyria  formed  only  a  ninth  part 
of  the  Persian  dominions,  they  contributed  together  one-third 
of  the  entire  revenue  of  the  empire.  The  country,  consisting 
of  one  enormous  plain,  lay  in  the  embrace  of  two  great 
rivers,  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates.  By  a  most  elaborate 
system  of  canals  the  enriching  waters  were  spread  over  the 
whole  land.  The  result  was  seen  in  a  fertility  so  astonish- 
ing that  Herodotus  was  afraid  to  tell  all  he  knew  lest  he 
should  be  accused  of  exaggeration.  The  crop  of  corn 
ranges,  he  tells  us,  between  two  and  three  hundredfold. 
"  The  blade  of  the  wheat-plant  and  barley-plant  is  often 
four  fingers  in  breadth.  As  for  the  millet  and  the  sesame, 
I  shall  not  say  to  what  height  they  grow,  though  within  my 
own  knowledge ;  for  I  am  not  ignorant  that  what  I  have 
already  written  concerning  the  fruitfulness  of  Babylonia 
must  seem  incredible  to  those  who  have  never  visited  the 
country." 

"  Thus  favoured  by  nature,  this  country  necessarily  became 
the  central  point  where  the  merchants  of  nearly  all  the 
nations  of  the  civilized  world  assembled;  and  such  we 
are  informed  by  history  it  remained  so  long  as  the  inter- 
national commerce  of  Asia  nourished.  Neither  the  devas- 
tating sword  of  the  conquering  nations,  nor  the  heavy  yoke 
of  Asiatic  despotism  could  tarnish,  though  for  a  time  they 
might  dim  its  splendour.  It  was  only  when  the  Europeans 
found  a  new  route  to  India  across  the  ocean,  and  converted 
the  great  commerce  of  the  world  from  a  land  trade  to  a  sea 
trade,  that  the  royal  city  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris  and  the 
Euphrates  began  to  decline.  Then,  deprived  of  its  commerce, 
it  fell  a  victim   to   the  twofold  oppression  of  anarchy  and 


ITS    TESTIMONY    TO    SCRIPTURE.  143 

despotism,  and  sank  to  its  original  state — a  stinking  morass 
and  a  barren  steppe."  *  "  The  whole  plain  is  thickly  covered 
with  traces  of  former  habitations.  Scarcely,  indeed,  is  there 
a  single  rood  of  ground  which  does  not  exhibit  some 
fragment  of  brick,  or  tile,  or  glass,  or  sepulchural  urn  to 
tell  that  man  has  lived  in  a  region  which  now  presents  to 
the  eye  but  one  vast  expanse  of  arid  desert :  a  howling 
wilderness,  where  the  only  evidence  that  he  still  exists  is 
afforded  by  the  black  Bedouin  tent,  or  the  wandering  camel 
which  here  and  there  dots  its  dreary  surface."  f  We  have 
seen  how  slowly  the  doom  of  Babylon  was  accomplished, 
and  that  it  is  being  perfected  even  now;  and  it  is  only 
within  the  last  six  hundred  years  that  this  judgment  has 
fallen  upon  Chaldaea,  and  that  her  cities  have  become  "a 
desolation,  a  dry  land,  and  a  wilderness."  What  remains 
as  yet  unfulfilled  will  also  be  accomplished.  The  time  will 
come  when  the  silence  of  death  will  fall  and  remain  un- 
broken :  when  no  man  will  dwell  there  nor  any  son  of  man 
pass  thereby. 

Place  these  prophetic  pictures,  the  features  of  which  we 
have  now  looked  at  in  detail, — place  them  for  a  moment  in 
full  view.  Remember  that  we  are  dealing  with  undoubted 
predictions,  and  that  there  is  no  room  for  the  supposition  that 
they  were  written  after  and  not  before  the  event.  Reflect 
that  Judea  and  her  cities,  that  Babylon  and  the  land  of 
which  she  was  once  the  capital  and  the  glory  are  fully  and 
minutely  described  as  they  were  afterwards  to  be;  and  that 
the  words  of  the  historian  and  the  traveller  merely  repeat 
the  language  of  the  prophets.  Let  us  deal  with  this  fact  as 
we  should  with  any  other,  and  shall  we  not  own  that  doubts 
are  dispelled  and  convictions  deepened  1  God  is  not  a 
myth,  or  a  dream.  He  is,  and  He  has  spoken  with  us.  His 
words  are  remembered  and  fulfilled ;  and,  if  every  word 
spoken  in  judgment  is  accomplished,  let  us  rejoice  that 
His  covenant  is  also  "  remembered  for  ever."  We  can  trust 
*  Heeren.         f  Fraser. 


144 


BABYLON. 


Him  utterly.  "The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation 
whom  shall  I  fear?  The  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  life 
of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid?" 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  PROPHETIC  FORECAST  OF  THE   WORLD'S    ENTIRE 
HISTORY. 

E  HAVE  NOW  TRAVELLED,  in  our  survey 
of  the  pictures  drawn  by  the  pen  of  prophecy, 
from  Egypt  to  Babylon,  and  have  touched  upon 
almost  the  whole  area  covered  by  sacred  story.  Every- 
where, in  the  nationalities  which  remain  as  well  as  in 
those  which  have  passed  away,  we  have  met  with  marvels 
which  form  an  array  of  evidence  in  favour  of  the  old  belief 
regarding  the  words  of  Scripture,  the  value  of  which  it 
would  be  hard  to  over-estimate. 

But,  as  we  read  the  story  of  the  past,  our  attention  is 
attracted  not  only  to  lands  and  peoples.  There  are  great 
movements  which  more  properly  form  the  material  of 
history,  and  give  to  it  unity  and  interest.  The  story  of 
peoples  becomes  in  this  case  the  history  of  man.  We 
observe  the  great  empires  of  the  ancient  world  sweeping 
away  the  barriers  which  separated  race  from  race,  and 
welding  together,  ever  more  perfectly,  widely-scattered 
nationalities.  Each  empire,  which  succeeds  to  the  coveted 
dominion,  succeeds  also  to  the  work  of  uniting  what  the 
past  had  scattered  and  the  ages  had  divided  ever  more 
widely.  We  have  now  to  notice  that  these  developments 
did  not  escape  the  observation  of  the  thought  which  breathes 
in  this  Word,  and  that  the  whole  of  them  have  been  mapped 

OUT  AND  DESCRIBED. 


146       PROPHETIC    FORECAST   OF    THE   WORLDS    HISTORY. 

The  book  of  Daniel,  with  which  we  have  now  to  deal, 
has  been  one  of  the  greatest  stumbling-blocks  in  the  path 
of  those  who  have  difficulty  in  believing  the  miraculous. 
It  consequently  holds  quite  a  singular  place  in  the  story  of 
the  attacks  which  have  beeen  made  upon  the  authenticity 
and  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures.  It  was  to  it  that 
Porphyry  first  applied  the  principles  and  methods  of  what 
has  been  called  "the  higher  criticism."  Many  of  the 
prophecies  had  been  so  strikingly  fulfilled  that,  to  evade 
their  force,  they  were  set  down  as  history,  and  the  date  of 
the  composition  of  the  book  was  fixed  at  a  point  from 
which  the  predictions  seemed  to  become  less  distinct  and 
clear.  When  the  modern  school  sprang  into  being,  it  was 
against  Daniel  that  the  attack  was  again  pressed  with  the 
greatest  determination  and  assurance.  The  mounds  raised 
in  the  former  siege  still  remained.  These  were  now 
seized  and  crowned  with  all  the  appliances  of  modern  war- 
fare. The  result  has  been,  in  the  estimation  of  the  critics, 
one  of  the  most  signal  and  satisfactory  kind.  The  demon- 
stration that  Daniel  neither  penned  nor  saw  the  book  which 
has  so  long  claimed  him  for  its  author,  has  been,  says 
Bunsen,  "one  of  the  finest  triumphs  and  most  useful 
achievements  of  modern  criticism."* 

But  the  triumph  did  not  meet  with  universal  recognition. 
The  result  was  objected  to  on  various  grounds.  For  one 
thing,  the  moral  sense  was  outraged.  It  has  been  often 
urged  that  the  Scriptures  must  either  be  received  as  the 
Word  of  God,  or  be  held  to  be  the  most  unblushing  and 
blasphemous  of  falsehoods;  and  that,  if  the  contentions  of 
"the  critics"  were  admitted,  there  would  be  left  us  neither 
moral  books  nor,  in  the  writers  of  them,  honest  men.  But 
while  fully  admitting  that,  in  their  view,  the  writer  of 
Daniel  was  not  honest,  the  critics  maintained  that  he 
should  nevertheles  be  regarded  as  admirable !  Bunsen 
speaks  of  him  as  "a  pious  man"  and  "the  pious  author." 
*"God  in  history,"  i.  191. 


DOUBTS    AS    TO    THE   BOOK    OF   DANIEL.  147 

"  At  this  juncture,"  he  says,  "  a  pious  man  resolved  to 
avail  himself  of  the  traditions  regarding  Daniel,  and  apply 
them  to  the  circumstances  of  his  own  time,  and,  in  the  name 
of  that  prophet,  proclaim  words  of  admonition  and  prophecy 
to  the  faithful  around  him."  *  The  necessities  of  the 
critical  position  must  surely  be  painfully  great  when  honour- 
able men  have  to  justify  supposed  pious  frauds,  the  like  of 
which,  were  they  to  disgrace  the  history  of  their  own  times, 
they  would  visit  with  the  most  unqualified  reprobation  and 
scorn. 

The  verdict  was  doubted,  however,  upon  other  grounds 
as  well.  Historians  felt  that  the  picture  given  of  the  times 
was  such  as  could  have  sprung  only  from  a  personal  and 
intimate  acquaintance  with  them.  Heeren  gladly  availed 
himself  of  the  light  thrown  by  the  book  upon  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  Babylonian-Chaldsean  empire;  and  even 
Schlosser,  thoroughly  identified  though  he  was  with  the 
critical  school,  was  compelled  to  say :  "In  Daniel  we 
think  we  possess  the  only  remains  of  the  modes  of  thought 
and  the  manners  of  the  Babylonian  period."  The  in- 
ferences of  the  historians  have  now  been  completely  vindi- 
cated by  the  advance  of  modern  discovery.  The  inscriptions 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  have  been  read ;  we  are  now,  by 
contemporary  documents,  brought  face  to  face  with  the 
times  in  which  he  lived;  and  these  are  the  times  and  the 
man  with  whom  we  have  been  long  familiar  in  the  pages  of 
Daniel.  "It  is  curious  to  notice,"  says  Lenormant,f  "that 
the  three  parts  composing  the  great  work  on  magic,  of 
which  Sir  Henry  Kawlinson  has  found  the  remains,  corres- 
pond exactly  to  the  three  classes  of  Chaldsean  doctors 
which  Daniel  enumerates.  The  further  we  advance  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  cuneiform  texts,  the  greater  does  the 
necessity  appear  of  reversing  the  condemnation  much  too 
prematurely  pronounced  by  the  German  exegetical  school 
against  the  writings. of  the  fourth  of  the  greater  prophets." 
*  "  God  in  History,"  i.  192.         f  "  Chaldeean  Magic,"  p.  14. 


148       PROPHETIC    FORECAST    OF    THE    WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

We  now  propose  to  go  further  than  any  confirmation  of 
the  historical  character  of  the  book  can  possibly  carry  us. 
It  contains  prophecies  which  professed  to  unveil  the  then 

FAR-OFF    FUTURE. 

In  one  of  them  we  have  a  forecast  of  the  world's  entire 
history,  brief,  indeed,  but  clear  and  well-defined ;  its  grand 
epochs  are  carefully  marked,  their  nature  distinguished, 
their  number  and  the  order  of  their  occurrence  fixed. 
Have  the  more  than  two  thousand  years  which  have  passed 
since  the  prophet  wrote,  anything  to  say  as  to  whether  these 
are  the  words  of  Godl  What  stamp  has  Time,  the  un- 
erring and  impartial  judge  of  every  such  pretension,  set 
upon  the  book  1 

That  is  the  question  :  let  us  now  turn  to  the  answer.  In 
the  last  days  of  the  Assyrian  Empire,  Nabopolassar,  king 
of  Babylon,  had  proclaimed  himself  independent,  and,  in 
conjunction  with  the  Medes,  crushed  what  remained  of  the 
Assyrian  power  by  the  capture  of  Nineveh.  Necho,  king 
of  Egypt,  had  meanwhile  possessed  himself  of  the  western 
dominions  of  Assyria,  and  was  engaged  in  the  siege  of 
Carchemish  on  the  Euphrates.  Nabopolassar  sent  his  son 
Nebuchadnezzar  to  sweep  back  the  Egyptian  hosts.  Necho 
received  a  crushing  defeat  under  the  walls  of  Carchemish, 
and  the  entire  territory  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  borders 
of  Egypt  was  the  reward  of  the  victory.  Nebuchadnezzar 
followed  hard  upon  the  heels  of  the  retreating  foe,  and  was 
engaged  in  the  siege  of  Pelusium  when  the  tidings  reached 
him  of  his  father's  death.  Making  a  hasty  peace  with 
Necho,  he  sped  back  to  Babylon  to  assume  possession  of 
the  kingdom.  He  ascended  the  throne  without  opposi- 
tion, and  now  in  this  the  second  year  of  his  reign  his  sway 
was  fully  established  alike  over  the  old  conquests  and  the 
new. 

But  the  warrior's  spirit  cannot  rest.  The  power  he  holds 
is   not   something   to   be   enjoyed ;    it   is   something   to   be 


Nebuchadnezzar's  dream.  149 

used ;  it  is  a  means,  and  not  an  end.  He  has  retired  to 
rest,  but  the  busy  brain  pursues  its  all-absorbing  fancy. 
Whither  will  he  turn  his  arms?  and  in  what  way  may  he 
most  effectually  break  the  power  he  means  to  attack? 
When  he  and  his  stand  alone  in  the  earth,  what  then? 
The  dominion  has  returned  again  to  Babylon,  the  ancient 
mistress  of  the  kingdoms ;  but  will  it  remain  here  1  Sleep 
at  last  seals  the  senses,  but  from  the  unresting  sea  of 
thought  wave  after  wave  is  flung.  It  dreams  he  still 
pursues  ambition's  path.  The  ever  changing  fancies  sweep 
through  the  soul  in  their  swift,  unending  flight ;  but  at  last 
their  aimless  career  is  checked,  and,  built  out  of  the 
dreamer's  "thoughts  upon  his  bed,"  a  vision  rises,  clear, 
consistent,  terrible.  The  conqueror's  spirit  is  bowed  with 
awe ;  and  when  he  has  gazed  and  pondered,  the  vision 
fades  and  disappears.  The  unbridled  thoughts  sweep  over 
his  soul  again,  and  blur,  though  they  cannot  efface,  the  deep 
impression  of  the  dream. 

This  dream  was  to  bear  upon  it  the  stamp  that  it  was 
sent  from  God,  and  so,  though  it  was  given  to  the  king, 
his  lips  were  not  permitted  to  tell  it.  The  vision  was  to 
be  related  to  him  by  one  whose  words,  awakening  his  own 
slumbering  recollection,  were  to  be  to  him  a  demonstration  of 
the  interpreter's  prophetic  mission.  The  Babylonian  diviners 
were  astonished  by  the  monarch's  demand  not  only  to  furnish 
an  interpretation,  but  also  to  make  known  a  forgotten 
dream.  The  story  of  how  Daniel  saved  them,  as  well  as 
his  companions  and  himself,  from  destruction  has  been 
familiar  to  us  from  the  days  of  our  childhood.  He  begged 
for  time.  He  betook  himself  to  prayer;  and  he  did  not 
plead  in  vain.  The  next  morning  saw  him  stand  in  the 
king's  presence.  He  reminded  Nebuchadnezzar  how  he 
had  seen  a  colossal  image  whose  "brightness  was  excel- 
lent" and  whose  "form  was  terrible."  He  had  then 
marked  that  though  the  image  was  a  unity,  it  was  con- 
structed of  various  materials.      The  head  was  of  gold,  the 


150       PKOPHETIC    FORECAST    OF    THE   WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

arms  and  the  breast  of  silver,  the  belly  and  the  haunches 
of  brass,  the  legs  of  iron,  and  the  feet  and  toes  partly  of 
iron,  and  partly  of  that  which,  though  in  appearance  like 
iron,  has  nothing  of  its  strength  or  power  of  resistance — 
brittle  earthenware.  Then  there  was  a  change.  This  image, 
with  its  terribleness  and  splendour,  was  crushed  beneath 
an  overwhelming  vengeance.  He  had  seen  a  stone  cut 
out  of  the  mountain  side  (the  emblem  of  the  Eternal 
Strength) ;  he  had  seen  it  cut  out  and  fashioned  without 
hands.  And  now  this  stone,  miraculous  in  its  origin,  fell 
upon  the  toes  of  the  image  and  crushed  and  ground  it  to 
powder,  till  the  iron,  and  clay,  and  brass,  and  silver,  and 
gold  became  as  "the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floors, 
and  the  wind  carried  them  away  that  no  place  was  found 
for  them,  and  the  stone  that  smote  the  image  became  a 
great  mountain,  and  filled  the  whole  earth"  (Dan.  ii.  35). 

That  was  the  Divine  parable.  The  colossal  image,  with 
its  splendour  and  terribleness,  was  a  fitting  emblem  of  the 
sovereignty  which  men  have  not  only  feared,  but  have  also 
regarded  with  enthusiastic  admiration.  In  the  7th  chapter 
of  Daniel  we  have  a  parallel  vision.  The  same  empires 
pass  before  the  prophet's  sight,  but  there  they  are  repre- 
sented as  beasts  of  prey.  Grotius  has  pointed  out  that  the 
imagery  of  the  visions  is  varied  in  accordance  with  the 
character  of  the  men  to  whom  they  are  sent.  The  prophet, 
with  a  heart  which  bleeds  for  human  woe,  sees  the  king- 
doms as  they  pass  on  through  blood  and  suffering :  they 
arise  to  kill  and  to  devour.  He,  on  the  other  hand,  whose 
heart  is  fired  with  the  lust  of  glory,  sees  only  the  realized 
ideal  of  human  ambition — a  god-like  man  and  things  that  are 
precious  and  strong — fine  gold  and  silver  and  brass  and  iron. 

But  we  have  more  than  the  symbolism  of  the  vision : 
the  parable  is  fully  explained.  The  image,  which  in  its 
completeness  represents  the  entire  sovereignty  of  man  over 
his  fellows,  is  divided  into  four  parts.  The  first,  the  head 
of   gold,  is   identified  with   the   Babylonian  empire  (Daniel 


THE   FIVE   EMPIRES    OF    PROPHECY.  151 

ii.  38).  After  this  there  was  to  arise  "another  kingdom 
inferior  to  "  the  first,  "  and  another  third  kingdom  of  brass, 
which  shall  bear  rule  over  all  the  earth.  And  the  fourth 
kingdom  shall  be  strong  as  iron."  This  was  to  endure  in 
its  latter  stage  of  subdivision  till  the  hour  of  vengeance 
should  have  struck,  and  "the  God  of  heaven"  have  "set 
up  a  kingdom  which  shall  never  be  destroyed"  (ii.  39,  40, 
44).  Numbered  in  this  way,  and  the  first  of  the  kingdoms 
being  so  plainly  designated,  the  student  of  history  can  find 
no  difficulty  in  the  interpretation.  But  we  have  every 
needed  help  furnished  by  the  Scripture  itself.  In  another 
vision  the  second  and  third  kingdoms  are  identified 
respectively  with  the  empire  of  Persia  and  the  empire  of 
Greece  (Dan.  viii.  20,  21).  The  fourth  kingdom,  though 
more  fully  described  than  any  other,  is  not  named;  but 
ere  the  Scripture  story  is  finished,  this  kingdom  too 
stands  plainly  before  us.  We  open  the  New  Testament 
and  find  the  Roman  power  bearing  rule  in  Judea.  As  to 
"the  stone"  the  figure  is  applied  to  Christ  again  and 
again,  and  His  own  words  will  be  remembered:  "Did  ye 
never  read  in  the  Scriptures,  '  The  stone,  which  the  builders 
rejected,  the  same  was  made  the  head  of  the  corner1?'  .  . 
he  that  falleth  on  this  stone  shall  be  broken  to  pieces; 
but,  on  whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  will  scatter  him  as  dust " 
(Matt.  xxi.  42,  44). 

The  four  empires  are  therefore  determined  by  the  Scripture 
itself.  They  are  the  Babylonian,  the  Persian,  the  Grecian, 
and  the  Roman.  The  fifth  is  the  dominion  of  Christ. 
Dealing  only  with  fulfilled  prophecy,  we  do  not  enter 
upon  the  latter  part  of  the  prediction;  and  confining  our- 
selves to  the  prophecies,  fulfilled  at  or  since  the  beginning 
of  the  Christian  era,  there  is  much  of  the  earlier  which 
lies  outside  our  range.  I  shall  simply  point  in  passing  to 
what  everyone  knows  to  be  true,  that  the  dominions  named 
succeeded  each  other  in  this  very  order.  The  Babylonian 
power  was  followed  by  the  Persian  under  Cyrus;  this  was 


152       PROPHETIC    FORECAST    OF   THE   WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

overturned  by  the  Grecian  under  Alexander,  and  the  Grecian 
was  in  like  manner  supplanted  by  the  Roman.  But  the 
marvels  of  this  prophecy  are  not  confined  to  that  portion 
of  it  whose  accomplishment  lay  nearest  to  the  prophet's 
time.     For  example,  the  Roman  was  to  be 

THE     LAST 

of  the  great  world-empires.  There  was  to  be  no  other.  This 
is  to  endure  in  its  subdivision  till  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
established  in  the  earth.  It  must  be  admitted  that  this  part 
of  the  prophetic  picture  is  striking,  if  not  startling.  Had 
the  writer  lived  at  the  beginning  of  our  era  and  seen  the 
Roman  power  at  the  summit  of  its  glory,  it  would  still  be 
inexplicable  on  any  natural  grounds  how  the  notion  could 
have  occurred  to  him  that  this  should  be  the  last  of  the 
dominions  of  man.  There  had  been  other  human  dominions 
before  it,  why  then  should  there  not  be  also  other  human 
dominions  after  it?  If  experience  had  been  asked  to  tell 
the  secrets  of  the  future,  the  answer  would  certainly  have 
been  that  the  revolutions  of  the  past  would  be  repeated  in 
the  time  to  come.  As  the  Babylonian  dominion  went 
down  before  the  Persian,  the  Persian  before  the  Greek, 
the  Greek  before  the  Roman,  so  the  Roman  might  also 
with  certainty  have  been  expected  to  pass  on  the  sceptre  to 
some  other.  But  what  of  the  fact?  What  have  the  well- 
nigh  nineteen  centuries  which  have  elapsed  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Christian  era  to  say  regarding  the  prediction? 
The  man  who  then  received  this  as  the  word  of  God  looked 
down  the  ages  and  said  there  would  be  no  other  world- 
dominion  of  man ;  and  we  who  now  look  back  through 
these  ages  have  to  confess  that  there  has  been  no  other. 
The  fierce,  rude  warriors  of  the  north  poured  like  a  flood 
against  the  western  empire  in  the  fifth  century,  but  the 
dominion  of  the  world  was  not  given  to  them.  In  the 
seventh  century  the  Arab-hordes,  sweeping  out  from  the 
desert,  assaulted  the  empire  on  the  east,  and  it  seemed  for  a 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE.       153 

time  as  if  the  Caliphs  might  ascend  the  throne  of  the  Caesars. 
But  the  storm  spent  its  strength,  and  the  Arab  had  not  been 
made  the  heir  of  the  Roman.  Tartars  and  Turks  swept  over 
the  east.  They  knocked  loudly  at  the  gates  of  the  west,  and 
men  trembled  lest  the  desolation  which  had  followed  in 
their  train  might  overspread  Christendom  as  well ;  and  to 
neither  was  the  dominion  given.  The  dream  of  universal 
empire  has  fired  the  breast  of  king  and  warrior,  and  among 
them  one  of  the  •  mightiest  geniuses  whose  hand  has  ever 
grasped  the  sword.  But  not  even  to  Napoleon  was  it  given 
to  weld  once  more  the  broken  fragments  of  the  Roman 
Empire  into  one.  There  has  been,  as  this  prophecy  said 
there  should  be,  a  fourth  dominion  of  man ; 

AND  THERE  HAS  BEEN  NO  OTHER. 

Is  it  not  strange  that,  during  these  last  1500  years,  in  which 
the  world  has  been  brought  more  together  than  it  ever  was 
before,  and  has  been  waiting,  as  it  were,  to  hail  the  con- 
queror and  give  him  a  sway  fuller  than  man  has  ever 
wielded,  no  one  has  seized  upon  the  prize?  And  is  it  not 
still  more  strange  that  these  words  should  have  told  us  this, 
and  said  that  the  world  should  look  and  wait,  but  that  there 
should  be  no  other  till  He  should  come  whose  right  it  is  to 
reign  1  Go  no  further  than  this — place  only  these  things 
together,  and  then  say  whether  any  man  need  ask  where  he 
may  find  the  word  of  the  living  God,  or  where  he  may 
obtain  the  conviction  that  His  hand  has  been  working 
through  all  those  changes  and  hastening  the  salvation  for 
which  the  whole  earth  cries. 

But  the  prophecy  abounds  with  marvels. 

THE   CHARACTER    OF    THE    FOURTH    KINGDOM 

is  fully  described.  The  Roman  empire  was  the  furthest 
removed  from  the  prophet's  time  and  yet  it  is  more  clearly 
depicted  than  any  of  the  others.  To  begin  with  he  is 
struck  by  its 


154       PROPHETIC    FOEECAST    OF   THE   WORLDS    HISTORY. 

STRANGENESS. 

In  the  vision  given  to  the  prophet  himself  "the  fourth 
beast  was  diverse  from  all  the  beasts  that  were  before  it" 
(vii.  7).  The  marked  difference  between  the  Koman  empire 
and  those  which  preceded  it  is  again  referred  to.  It  is 
spoken  of  as  "diverse  from  all  of  them"  (vii.  19).  The 
full  meaning  of  these  words  we  shall  afterwards  see. 
Meanwhile  it  may  be  enough  to  say  that  in  every  aspect 
Rome  was  diverse  from  each  of  the  dominions  which 
preceded  it.  It  was  an  utterly  new  development  in  history. 
Formerly  attention  was  fixed  upon  conquerors  and  kings 
whose  will  was  obeyed,  whose  plans  were  executed,  by  the 
peoples  whom  they  ruled  and  led.  But  here  our  attention 
is  fixed  not  upon  the  one  but  the  many.  It  is  the  people 
who  plan  and  triumph.  Their  dominion  does  not  perish, 
nor  is  even  their  progress  arrested,  because  of  the  fall  of 
their  leaders. 

The  Roman  empire  stands  alone  also  in  its  wide  and 
abiding  influence.  It  did  not  merely  conquer  the  nations,  it 
impressed  its  own  character  upon  them.  It  imparted  its 
own  institutions,  laws,  and  spirit.  The  external  dominion 
has  long  since  passed  away,  but  Rome  still  rules  the 
nations.  In  its  nature  and  in  its  work  it  was  diverse  from 
all  that  were  before  it.  It  is  wonderful  to  notice  how  the 
features  which  strike  the  mind  of  the  prophet  are  those 
which  also  arrest  the  attention  of  the  historian.  Guizot 
speaks  of  Rome  as  "the  most  extraordinary  dominion  that 
ever  led  captive  and  oppressed  a  world."  "Now  for  the 
first  time"  says  Heeren,  "appears  on  the  page  of  history 
the  fearful  phenomenon  of  a  great  military  republic."  "I 
confess  that  my  own  imagination,"  writes  Mr.  Merivale, 
"is  most  powerfully  excited  by  the  visible  connection 
between  moral  influence  and  material  authority  which  is 
presented,  to  an  extent  never  realized  before  or  since,  by  the 
phenomenon  of  the  Roman  Empire.  *  Niebuhr  expresses 
*  "History  of  the  Romans,"  I.  p.  xiii. 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE.       155 

still  more  fully  the  same  sentiment.  "  The  history  of  Rome 
has  the  highest  claims  to  our  attention.  It  shows  us  a 
nation,  which  was  in  its  origin  small  as  a  grain  of  corn ; 
but  this  originally  small  population  waxed  great,  transferred 
its  character  to  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  became  the 
sovereign  of  nations  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  sun. 
The  whole  of  western  Europe  adopted  the  language  of 
the  Romans,  and  its  inhabitants  looked  upon  themselves 
as  Romans.  The  laws  and  institutions  of  the  Romans 
acquired  such  a  power  and  durability,  that  even  at  the 
present  moment  they  still  continue  to  maintain  their  influence 
upon  millions  of  men.  Such  a  development  is  without  a 
parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Before  this  star  all 
others  fade  and  vanish."* 
The  prophet  is  struck  with 

THE    TERRIBLENESS, 

as  well  as  with  the  strangeness,  of  the  fourth  empire.  The 
fourth  beast  was  "terrible,  terrible  exceedingly"  (vii.  7,  19). 
In  touching  upon  this  I  am  taking  the  features  of  the 
picture  in  the  order  in  which  they  stand  in  the  prophecy. 
I  am  not  making  selections  but  repeating  in  detail  the 
words  of  this  portion  of  Scripture.  Is  it  not  wonderful 
then  to  observe  that  history  merely  reproduces  the  picture 
previously  drawn  in  the  prophecy  1  I  have  already  quoted 
Heeren's  words  about  "  the  fearful  phenomenon "  presented 
by  Rome.  Schlegel  speaks  of  the  "fearful"  rapidity  of  its 
progress,  and  Mommsen  of  its  " fearfully  strict  military 
discipline."  Merivale  confesses  that  he  contemplates  the 
swift  progress  of  the  Roman  3.rms  "with  awe  and  astonish- 
ment." 

The   cause    of   this    astonishment  will   be  more  apparent 
as  we   proceed.     The   prophet   speaks   next   of 
THE  STRENGTH 

of    the    fourth    empire.       It    was    "powerful    and    strong 
*  "History  of  Rome,"  I.  92. 


156       PROPHETIC    FORECAST    OF    THE    WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

exceedingly  (vi.  7);  "The  fourth  kingdom  shall  be  strong 
as  iron "  (ii.  40).  Here  again  we  have  one  of  the  great 
outstanding  features  of  the  Roman  empire.  Menzel  speaks 
of  it  as  "a  colossal  empire  of  force."  "In  practised  vigour 
and  constancy  under  every  privation,"  says  Schlegel,  "the 
Roman  infantry,  with  the  vigorous  masses  of  its  legion, 
surpassed  all  military  bodies  that  have  ever  been  organised." 
And  again,  "When  even  Hannibal,  the  most  formidable 
adversary  the  Roman  public  ever  had  to  encounter,  and  the 
one  who  had  most  deeply  studied  its  true  character  and  the 
danger  threatening  the  world  from  this  quarter ;  when  even 
he,  after  the  many  great  victories  which,  in  a  long  series  of 
years,  he  had  obtained  over  the  Romans  in  the  second 
Punic  war,  though  he  shook  the  power,  was  unable  to  break 
the  spirit  of  this  people :  when  this  was  the  case  one 
might  regard  the  great  political  question  of  the  then 
civilised  world  as  settled;  and  it  could  no  longer  be  a 
matter  of  doubt  that  that  city,  justly  denominated  strength, 
and  which,  even  from  of  old,  had  been  the  idol  of  her  son, 
(who  accounted  everything  as  nought  in  comparison  with 
her  interests) :  that  that  city,  I  say,  was  destined  to  conquer 
the  world  and  establish  an  empire,  the  like  whereof  had 
never  yet  been  founded  by  preceding  conquerors."  Even 
Gibbon  accepts  the  language  of  the  prophecy  as  the  truest 
description  of  the  unparalleled  might  of  Rome.  "The 
arms  of  the  Republic,  sometimes  vanquished  in  battle, 
always  victorious  in  war,  advanced  with  rapid  steps 
to  the  Euphrates,  the  Danube,  the  Rhine,  and  the 
ocean;  and  the  images  of  gold,  of  silver,  or  brass,  that 
might  serve  to  represent  the  nations  and  their  kings 
were  successively  broken  by  the  iron  monarchy  of 
Rome."* 

The  more  closely  we  look  the  more  do  we  recognise  the 
truth  of   the  prophetic  picture.      Behind  the  iron    strength 
there  was  an  iron  nature.     Its  mark  is  everywhere.     It  is 
*  "Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  chap,  xxxviii. 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE.       157 


seen  in  their  stern  self-control.  Laws  were  passed  and 
enforced,  for  example,  against  the  spread  of  luxury.  Rufinus, 
who  had  held  the  high  office  of  consul,  was  struck  off  the 
list  of  censors  because  he  possessed  silver  plate  to  the 
value  of  £34.  These  laws  entered  even  into  the  house  of 
mourning,  and  prescribed  how  much  might  be  spent  in 
affording  grief  the  melancholy  satisfaction  of  showing 
honour  to  the  dead.  Mommsen  speaks  of  their  "stern  and 
energetic  morality."  The  iron  was  seen  also  in  the  discipline, 
to  which  the  armies  willingly  submitted.  Improvements 
were  made  in  arms  and  in  tactics,  but  there  was  no  change 
here.  "The  old,  fearfully  strict,  military  discipline  re- 
mained unaltered.  Still,  as  formerly,  the  general  was  at 
liberty  to  behead  any  man  serving  in  his  camp,  and  to 
scourge  with  rods  the  staff  officer  as  well  as  the  common 
soldier;  nor  were  such  punishments  inflicted  merely  on 
account  of  common  crimes,  but  also  when  an  officer  had 
allowed  himself  to  deviate  from  the  orders  which  he  had 
received,  or  when  a  division  had  allowed  itself  to  be 
surprised,  or  had  fled  from  the  field  of  battle."* 

In  the  history  of  no  other  people  do  we  find  this  union 
of  stern,  vigilant  authority,  and  voluntary,  intelligent 
submission.  Nowhere  besides  do  we  mark  the  strength 
which  this  union  gave.  From  the  circumference  to  the 
centre  of  this  people's  life,  from  the  far-off  camps  and 
battle-fields  to  the  home,  there  is  no  alloy.  It  is  the  iron 
kingdom,  standing  alone  through  all  history  in  its  terrible- 
ness  and  grandeur.  But  when  we  have  marked  its  peerless 
strength,  we  have  to  remember  that  from  of  old  this  word 
said  it  should  be  so :  "  the  fourth  kingdom  shall  be  strong 
as  iron;"  it  shall  be  "powerful  and  strong  exceedingly." 

But  the  prophet  also  notes 

THE  TYRANNOUS  USE 
which  was  made  of   the  iron  strength.     "The  fourth  king- 
dom shall  be  strong  as  iron  :   forasmuch  as  iron  breaketh 
*  Mommsen  ;  "History  of  Rome,"  I.,  454. 


158       PROPHETIC    FORECAST    OF    THE    WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

in  pieces  and  subdueth  all  things  :  and  as  iron  that  crusheth 
all  these  (that  is — gold,  silver,  and  brass)  shall  it  break  in 
pieces  and  crush"  (Dan.  ii.  40).  And,  again,  the  fourth 
beast  "devoured  and  brake  in  pieces,  and  stamped  the 
residue  with  his  feet."  This  latter  vision  was  thus  inter- 
preted to  the  prophet.  "  The  fourth  beast  shall  be  a  fourth 
kingdom  upon  earth,  which  shall  be  diverse  from  all  the 
kingdoms,  and  shall  devour  the  whole  earth,  and  shall 
tread  it  down,  and  break  it  in  pieces"  (Dan.  vii.   7,  23). 

The  Romans  were  conscious  of  their  mission.  Virgil 
represents  iEnias  as  thus  addressed  by  the  shade  of 
Anchises : — 

Others  belike  with  happier  grace 
From  bronze  or  stone  shall  call  the  face, 
Plead  doubtful  causes,  map  the  skies, 
And  tell  when  planets  set  or  rise : 
But  Roman,  thou,  do  thou  control 
The  nations  far  and  wide  : 

Be  this  thy  genius — to  impose 

The  rule  of  peace  on  vanquished  foes, 

Show  pity  to  the  humblest  soul 

And  crush  the  sons  of  pride.* 

In  connection  with  these  lines,  Bunsen  remarks  that  the 
Romans  "regarded  the  ruling  of  the  world  as  a  vocation 
entrusted  to  them  by  the  gods  for  the  suppression  of 
injustice  upon  the  earth,  and  the  obtaining  of  redress  for 
the  oppressed,  the  latter  of  course  being  those  who  appealed 
to  the  Romans  for  defence.  Those  who  preferred  inde- 
pendence were  rebels,  seditious.  All  who  set  themselves 
in  opposition  to  the  will  of  the  civilizing,  law-dispensing 
divinities  were  regarded  as  barbarians."  f 

How  they  fulfilled  what  they  regarded  as  their  vocation, 
the  whole  world  knows.  Rome  ever  held  her  head  on 
high  as  if  she  felt  she  was  the  world's  Queen.     She  would 

*  "iEneid,"  VI.,  Conington's  translation, 
f  "God  in  History,"  II.,  363,  364. 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE.       159 

make  no  peace  with  a  victorious  foe :  she  might  be  sore 
bestead,  but  she  never  acknowledged  weakness.-  When 
Hannibal  had  shattered  her  dominion  in  Italy  itself  and 
was  threatening  her  very  existence,  the  donations  sent  by 
the  king  of  Syracuse  and  the  Greek  cities  of  Italy  were 
declined  courteously,  but  with  unbending  haughtiness.  A 
more  terrible  trial  awaited  her.  Her  last  army  was  an- 
nihilated at  Cannae.  On  that  fatal  field  70,000  of  her 
choicest  sons  lay  cold  and  stiff,  and  her  power  seemed  to 
have  perished  with  them.  But  even  then  Rome  would  not 
despair  nor  give  way  to  a  moment's  weakness.  The  cheek 
might  pale,  but  the  head  was  still  erect,  the  step  was  firm. 
Only  one  of  the  generals  escaped,  the  Consul  Varro,  the 
author  of  the  disaster;  "and  the  Koman  senators  met  him 
at  the  gate  and  thanked  him  that  he  had  not  despaired  of 
the  salvation  of  his  country.  .  .  .  The  senate  preserved 
its  firm  and  unbending  attitude  while  messengers  from  all 
sides  hastened  to  Rome  to  report  the  loss  of  battles,  the 
secession  of  allies,  the  capture  of  posts  and  magazines,  and 
to  ask  for  reinforcements  for  the  valley  of  the  Po,  and  for 
Sicily  at  a  time  when  Italy  was  abandoned  and  Rome 
almost  without  a  garrison.  .  .  .  The  time  of  mourning 
for  the  fallen  was  restricted  to  30  days  that  the  service  of 
the  gods  of  joy,  from  which  those  clad  in  mourning  were 
excluded,  might  not  too  long  be  interrupted — for  so  great 
was  the  number  of  the  fallen  that  there  was  scarcely  a 
family  which  had  not  to  lament  its  dead."  *  Such  was  the 
scarcity  of  men  fit  for  the  field  that,  while  calling  out  all 
above  boyhood,  Rome  had  to  arm  besides  her  debtors  and 
criminals  and  slaves  :  yet  at  this  very  time  when  "  Hannibal 
offered  a  release  of  captives  at  the  expense  of  the  Roman 
treasury  it  was  declined,  and  the  Carthaginian  envoy  who 
had  arrived  with  the  deputation  of  captives  was  not  allowed 
to  enter  the  city :  nothing  should  look  as  if  the  senate 
thought  of  peace.  Not  only  were  the  allies  to  be  prevented 
*  Mommsen,  "History  of  Rome,"  II.,  137. 


160       FROPHETIC    FORECAST    OF    THE    WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

from  believing  that  Rome  was  disposed  to  enter  into  nego- 
tiations, but  even  the  meanest  citizen  was  to  be  made  to 
understand  that  for  him,  as  for  all,  there  was  no  peace,  and 
that  safety  lay  only  in  victory."* 

As  marked  a  feature  as  her  refusal  to  make  peace  with  a 
victorious  enemy  was  her  inability  to  bear  the  existence  of 
a  rival.  Cato's  "Delenda  est  Carthago"  (Carthage  must 
be  blotted  out),  was  simply  a  statement  of  the  deliberate 
policy  of  Rome.  Foes  must  be  beaten.  Rivals  must  be 
crushed.  Cato's  decree  was  carried  out  by  Scipio,  one  of 
the  most  humane  Romans  of  his  time,  and  this  is  the  way 
in  which  the  deed  was  done :  "  For  seventeen  days  the 
city  was  in  flames,  and  the  numbers  that  were  exterminated 
amounted  to  700,000  souls,  including  the  women  and 
children  sold  into  slavery :  so  that  this  scene  of  horror 
served  as  an  early  prelude  to  the  later  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  .  .  .  Whenever  Roman  interests  were  at 
stake,  all  mankind,  and  the  lives  of  nations,  were  con- 
sidered as  of  no  importance."!  "Scipio's  letter  to  the 
senate  is  said  to  have  contained  no  more  than  these  words: 
'  Carthage  is  taken.  The  army  awaits  your  further  orders.' 
The  tidings  were  received  at  Rome  with  uncommon 
demonstrations  of  joy.  The  victors  recollecting  all  the 
passages  of  their  former  wars,  the  alarms  which  had  been 
given  by  Hannibal  and  the  irreconcilable  antipathy  of 
the  two  nations,  gave  orders  to  raze  the  fortifications  of 
Carthage,  and  even  to  destroy  the  materials  of  which  they 
were  constructed."  I 

Whatever  Rome  touched  with  a  finger,  was  certain  to 
be  crushed  at  last  beneath  her  feet.  Judea  is  a  familiar 
instance.  Sorely  pressed  by  the  Greco-Syrian  power,  she 
placed  herself  in  160  b.c.  under  Roman  protection.  Not 
a  hundred  years  after,  in  63  B.C.,  Pompey,  at  the  head  of 
a  triumphant  army,  is  appointing  whom  he  pleases  to   the 

*ibid.  137,  138.  t  Schlegel ;  "  Philosophy  of  History." 

X Ferguson;  "History  of  the  Roman  Republic." 


THE    TYRANNY    OF   EOME.  161 

throne  and  the  high-priesthood.  In  the  year  7  a.d.  the 
shadow  of  its  independence  has  gone,  and  it  is  made  a 
province  of  the  Koman  Empire.  In  70  a.d.  resistance  is 
crushed  by  deluging  the  land  with  blood  and  turning  it 
into  a  desert.  The  same  policy  was  pursued  in  Greece. 
The  Romans  came  as  the  enemies  of  tyrants  and  the 
restorers  of  the  ancient  freedom.  That  was,  however,  only 
the  beginning  of  the  story;  it  ended  thus:  "Rome,  amid 
the  rising  hatred,  did  not  deem  herself  secure  until  by  one 
blow  she  had  rid  herself  of  all  opponents  of  any  importance. 
Above  a  thousand  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Achseans 
were  summoned  to  Rome  to  justify  themselves,  and  there 
detained  seventeen  years  in  prison  without  a  hearing.  .  . 
The  ultimate  lot,  both  of  Macedon  and  Greece,  was 
decided  by  the  system  now  adopted  at  Rome,  that  of  con- 
verting the  previous  dependence  of  nations  into  formal 
subjection.  The  insurrection  of  Andriscus  in  Macedonia, 
an  individual  who  pretended  to  be  the  son  of  Perseus,  was 
quelled  by  Metellus,  the  country  being  constituted  a  Roman 
province;  two  years  afterwards,  at  the  sack  of  Corinth, 
vanished  the  last  glimmer  of  Grecian  freedom."*  "It 
is  curious  to  observe,"  says  Arnold,  "how,  after  every 
successive  conquest,  the  Romans  altered  their  behaviour 
to  those  allies  who  had  aided  them  to  gain  it,  and  whose 
friendship  or  enmity  was  now  become  indifferent  to  them. 
Thus,  after  their  first  war  with  Philip,  they  slighted  the 
iEtolians;  after  they  had  vanquished  Antiochus,  they 
readily  listened  to  complaints  against  Philip;  and  now  the 
destruction  of  Macedon  enabled  them  to  use  the  language 
of  sovereigns  rather  than  of  allies  to  their  oldest  and  most 
faithful  friends,  Eumenes,  the  Rhodians,  and  the  Achseans. 
.  .  .  Let  it  be  for  ever  remembered  that,  by  a  decree 
of  the  senate,  seventy  towns  of  Epirus  were  given  up  to  be 
plundered  by  the  Roman  army,  after  all  hostilities  were  at 
an  end;  that  falsehood  and  deceit  were  used  to  prevent 
*  Heereu. 

L 


162         PROPHETIC    FORECAST    OF    THE    WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

resistance  or  escape;  and  that  in  one  clay  and  one  hour 
seventy  towns  were  sacked  and  destroyed,  and  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  human  beings  sold  for  slaves."* 

Wherever  Rome  imagined  her  interests  were  threatened 
she  pursued  the  same  terrible  policy.  "  Two  nations,  the 
Teneteri  and  Usipetes,  who  had  been  driven  out  of  their 
country  by  the  Suevi,  crossed  the  Ehine  and  demanded 
land  from  Caesar,  who,  unwilling  to  tolerate  so  many  warlike 
German  tribes  in  Gaul,  resolved  to  make  a  fearful  example 
of  them,  in  order  to  deter  others  from  crossing  the  frontier, 
and,  treacherously  seizing  the  German  leader  .... 
suddenly  attacked  his  unsuspecting  followers  and  drove 
them  into  the  narrow  tongue  of  land  at  the  conflux  of  the 
Maes  and  the  Rhine,  where  the  greater  part  were  either 
slaughtered,  drowned,  or  taken  prisoners."  f 

The  Romans  had  suffered  considerable  annoyance  and 
loss  from  the  irruptions  of  the  Tyrolese.  A  great  power 
could  not  be  expected  to  endure  such  insults  with  meekness. 
We  should  look  for  reprisals  severe  enough  to  prove  that 
its  friendship  was  more  to  be  desired  than  its  enmity.  But 
the  reader  will  hardly  be  prepared  for  the  following  tale  of 
vengeance.  "  The  Romans  advanced  from  the  Bodensee 
into  the  mountains  and  systematically  exterminated  the 
inhabitants.  Every  man  fell  sword  in  hand,  and  the  women, 
maddened  by  despair,  flung  their  children  into  the  faces  of 
the  enemy.  The  Roman  historian  turns  with  horror  from 
the  monstrous  crimes  that  blacken  the  page  in  which  the 
destruction  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Tyrol  by 
Tiberius,  afterwards  Emperor  of  Rome,  is  recorded."  J 
One  of  the  noblest  struggles  for  freedom  was  that  carried 
on  in  Spain  by  Viriathus,  "a  simple  Spanish  countryman 
— whom  after  six  years'  war  she  could  only  rid  herself  of 
by  assassination.     The  war  nevertheless  continued  after  his 

*  "Later  Roman  Commonwealth,"  L,  19,  20. 
f  Menzel,   "History  of  Germany."  X  ibid. 


THE    TYRANNY    OF    ROME.  163 

death  against  the  Numan tines,  who  would  not  be  subjected, 
but  were  at  last  destroyed  by  Scipio  Aemilianus."  * 

And  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  these  were  incidents,  the 
real  nature  of  which  the  Romans  sought  in  any  way  to  con- 
ceal from  public  view.  Such  tales  of  bloodshed  formed  the 
special  glory  of  their  public  men.  It  was  inscribed  in 
Pompey's  honour  on  the  temple  of  Minerva  that  "  he  sunk, 
or  took,  846  ships;  reduced  1538  towns  and  fortresses; 
and  vanquished,  slew,  or  led  into  captivity  2,183,000  men." 
Herder  speaks  of  "  the  blood-drenched  soil  of  Roman  glory," 
and  sums  up  Roman  history  in  two  words — "Ravage  and 
destruction."  "It  was  as  if  the  iron-footed  god  of  war, 
Aradivus,  so  highly  revered  from  of  old  by  the  people  of 
Romulus,  actually  bestrode  the  globe  and  at  every  step 
struck  out  new  torrents  of  blood.  .  .  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  if  the  Roman  history  were  divested  of  its  accus- 
tomed rhetoric,  of  all  the  patriotic  maxims  and  trite  sayings 
of  politicians,  and  were  presented  with  strict  and  minute 
accuracy  in  all  its  living  reality,  every  humane  mind  would 
be  deeply  shocked  at  such  a  picture  of  tragic  truth,  and 
penetrated  with  the  profoundest  detestation  and  horror."  f 

The  prophecy  also  notes  that  the  hold  of  Rome  upon  the 
nations  was  not  to  be  relaxed  till  their 

SUBJUGATION    WAS    PERFECTED. 

The  fourth  dominion  was  not  only  to  devour  and  break 
in  pieces  :  it  was  to  stamp  the  residue  with  its  feet.  Rome 
was  resolved  not  only  to  conquer,  but  also  to  absorb  the 
whole  world.  Her  colonies  were  planted  in  the  conquered 
countries,  breaking  up  their  strength  for  resistance,  and 
forming  centres  whence  her  language  and  her  laws  were 
forced  upon  the  people.  Her  military  highways,  constructed 
with  such  solidity  and  skill  that  many  of  them  remain  to 
the  present  time,  connected  Rome  with  the  most  distant 
conquests  and  enabled  her  to  pour  in  her  legions  wherever 
*  Heeren.  t  Schlegel ;  "Philosophy  of  History." 


164      PROPHETIC    FOEECAST    OE    THE   WOELD's    HISTOEY. 

her  honour  or  her  safety  might  be  threatened.  And  what 
her  generals  began  her  proconsuls  and  praetors  perfected. 
"The  highest  military  and  civil  powers,"  says  Heeren,  "were 
united  in  these  governors ;  a  principal  cause  of  the  horrible 
oppression  which  was  soon  felt.  Troops  were  alway  kept  up 
in  the  provinces,  and  the  Latin  language  everywhere  intro- 
duced (except  only  where  Greek  was  spoken)  that  the 
inhabitants  might  be  made  as  much  like  Romans  as  possible." 
In  a  word,  she  devoured,  and  broke  in  pieces,  and  stamped 
the  residue  with  her  feet. 

Here,  as  elsewhere,  prophecy  becomes  the  truest  and 
tersest  of  all  possible  descriptions.  The  eye  which  here 
looked  onward  saw  clearly  and  read  deeply.  But  we  are 
now  to  touch  upon  something  still  more  wonderful.  These 
ancient  words  picture  the  political  condition  of 
OUR    OWN    TIMES! 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  prophecy  professes  to  tell  the 
history  as  well  as  the  character  of  the  fourth  kingdom. 
We  notice  first  that,  though  it  was  one  dominion,  it  was 
nevertheless  represented  in  the  figure  as  twofold.  In  the 
case  of  the  second  dominion,  represented  by  the  arms  and 
the  breast  of  silver,  it  was  indicated  that  the  power 
originally  twofold  should,  in  process  of  time,  become  one. 
This  was  literally  fulfilled  in  the  Medes  and  Persians 
becoming  one  people.  But  in  the  part  of  the  figure,  which 
was  the  symbol  of  the  Roman  power,  this  process  appears 
to  be  reversed.  What  was  originally  one  becomes  two. 
It  might  be  supposed  that  in  pointing  out  this  feature  we 
are  laying  ourselves  open  to  the  charge  of  straining  the 
words  of  Scripture,  if  not  of  profaning  sacred  things  by 
childish  trifling.  Should  any  one  view  the  matter  in  this 
light,  let  me  remind  him  of  one  fact  before  passing  on. 
The  Empire,  originally  one,  did 

BECOME     TWOFOLD. 
The   Emperor   Diocletian,    who    improved   upon   the   perse- 


THE    DESCRIPTION    OF    OUR    OWN  TIMES.  165 

cuting  policy  of  his  predecessors,  and  waged  war  against 
the  Scriptures,  ordering  them  to  be  searched  for  and 
destroyed,  became  the  unconscious  instrument  by  which 
this  prediction  was  fulfilled.  Feeling  that  the  empire, 
whose  destinies  he  guided,  called  for  more  than  one  man's 
thought  and  strength,  he  associated  Maximian  with  himself 
in  the  government.  Maximian  received  the  western 
provinces,  while  Diocletian  retained  the  eastern  for  himself. 
This  division  was  made  in  287  a.d.,  and  was  continued 
with  but  slight  interruption  till  the  western  empire  was 
overthrown  by  Odoacer  in  476  a.d.  The  eastern  finally 
fell  in  the  capture  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks  in  1453. 
The  best  comment  on  this  part  of  the  prophecy  is  found 
in  the  division  which  all  historians  recognise.  The  one 
dominion  of  Rome  becomes  at  length  the  empires  of  the 
East  and  the  West. 

But  there  was  to  be  a  further  subdivision.  As  we  have 
already  seen,  it  was  predicted  that  the  fourth  kingdom  was 
not  to  be  supplanted  by  any  other  dominion  of  man,  but 
was  to  endure 

IN    ITS    FRAGMENTS 

till  the  time  of  the  end.  Attention  is  directed  in  the  vision 
given  to  Nebuchadnezzar  to  the  toes  of  the  image.  "  The  toes 
of  the  feet"  are  spoken  of  as  kings  or  kingdoms — which 
"  shall  not  cleave  one  to  another,"  and  in  whose  days  "  shall 
the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  which  shall  never 
be  destroyed,  nor  shall  the  sovereignty  thereof  be  left  to 
another  people"  (Dan.  ii.  41-44). 

Now  we  know  that  this  word  has  remained  unaltered 
and  untouched  since  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era. 
We  know  also  that  for  well-nigh  five  centuries  afterwards 
the  word  was  unfulfilled.  There  were  two  empires,  but 
there  was  no  further  subdivision.  We  know,  too,  that  for 
ages  the  prediction  has  been  fulfilled  to  the  very  letter. 
The  two  have  become  many.      It  has  not  been  a  merely 


166       PROPHETIC    FORECAST    OF    THE    WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

temporary  condition.  Neither  wars,  nor  intermarriages, 
nor  alliances,  tried  though  they  have  all  been,  have  availed 
to  re-unite  the  fragments  and  restore  the  ancient  unity  of 
the  empire.  The  manifold  division  has  proved  to  be  a 
permanent  condition,  and  the  historical  development  of  the 
fourth  dominion  has  proceeded  exactly  as  this  prediction 
foretold  it  should  do. 

Were  it  possible  to  explain  this  away  as  merely  a  strange 
coincidence,  there  is  more  that  calls  for  notice  and  expla- 
nation.    The  prophecy  teaches  us 

TO    READ    OUR    OWN     HISTORY. 

We  may  know  much  regarding  the  various  nationalities 
scattered  over  what  was  once  the  Roman  empire,  without 
any  right  conception  of  our  and  their  relation  to  ancient 
Rome.  It  may  seem  to  us  that  the  empire  has  been 
supplanted  by  the  nations,  and  has  passed  utterly  away. 
The  prophecy,  on  the  other  hand,  declares  that  the  fourth 
dominion  still  abides,  that  Rome  still  lives.  The  separate 
dominions  are  only  its  development ;  the  nations  are  its 
fragments,  partaking  of  its  nature  and  continuing  its 
existence. 

We  need  not  argue  as  to  which  of  these  views  is  correct. 
The  testimony  of  those  who  have  studied  the  history  of 
the  past  is  that  Rome  lives  on.  "The  public  reason  of  the 
Romans  has  been  silently  or  studiously  transfused  into  the 
domestic  institutions  of  Europe,  and  the  laws  of  Justinian 
still  command  the  respect  or  obedience  of  independent 
nations."  *  Even  the  outward  continuity  remained  un- 
broken. "Gothic  and  other  chiefs  gave  themselves  the 
name  of  Roman  Patricians,  and  at  a  later  date  the  Roman 
empire  was  restored."  Clovis  received  from  Constantinople 
the  titles  of  Consul  and  Patrician,  and  by  that  means  re- 
conciled the  people  of  his  Roman  conquests  to  his  sway. 
Charlemagne  was  crowned  Emperor  of  Rome  by  Leo  III., 
*  Gibbon. 


THE    DESCRIPTION    OF    OUR    OWN    TIMES.  167 

the  Roman  bishop.  And  this  was  no  unmeaning  form. 
"A  seal,"  says  Hallam,  "was  put  to  the  glory  of  Charle- 
magne when  Leo  III.,  in  the  name  of  the  Roman  people, 
placed  upon  his  head  the  imperial  crown.  His  father, 
Pepin,  had,  in  800,  borne  the  title  of  Patrician,  and  he  had 
himself  exercised,  with  that  title,  a  regular  sovereignty  over 
Rome.  Money  was  coined  in  his  name,  and  an  oath  of 
fidelity  was  taken  by  the  clergy  and  the  people.  But  the 
appellation  of  Emperor  seemed  to  place  his  authority  over 
all  his  subjects  on  a  new  footing.  It  was  full  of  high  and 
indefinite  pretensions,  tending  to  overshadow  the  free 
election  of  the  Franks  by  a  fictitious  descent  from  Augustus. 
A  fresh  oath  of  fidelity  to  him  as  Emperor  was  demanded 
from  his  subjects."  The  Church,  by  this  time  thoroughly 
Romanized,  rose  into  power  as  the  Empire  fell,  and,  along 
with  the  faith  which  it  gave  to  the  conquerors,  handed  down 
the  Roman  culture.  Roman  law  continued  its  hold,  and 
Roman  institutions  lived  on  among  the  people.  "Con- 
sidering attentively  how  many  of  the  old  institutions 
continued  to  subsist,  and  studying  the  feelings  of  that  time, 
as  they  are  faintly  preserved  in  its  scanty  records,  it  seems 
hardly  too  much  to  say  that  in  the  8th  century  the  Roman 
empire  still  existed  in  the  West :  existed  in  men's  minds 
as  a  power,  weakened,  delegated,  suspended,  but  not 
destroyed."  * 

To  these  I  may  add  a  more  recent  and  not  less  weighty 
testimony.  "If  the  historian  of  Rome  is  bound  to  look 
back,  still  more  is  he  bound  to  look  onwards.  He  has  but 
to  cast  his  eye  on  the  world  around  him  to  see  that  Rome 
is  still  a  living  and  abiding  power.  The  tongue  of  Rome 
is  the  groundwork  of  the  living  speech  of  south-western 
Europe ;  it  shares  our  own  vocabulary  with  the  tongue  of 
our  Teutonic  fathers.  The  tongue  of  Rome  is  still  the 
ecclesiastical  language  of  half  Christendom;  the  days  are 
hardly  past  when  it  was  the  common  speech  of  science  and 
*  Hegel;  "Philosophy  of  History." 


168       PROPHETIC    FOEECAST    OF    THE    WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

learning.  The  law  of  Rome  is  still  quoted  in  our  courts 
and  taught  in  our  Universities ;  in  other  lands  it  forms  the 
source  and  groundwork  of  their  whole  jurisprudence.  Little 
more  than  half  a  century  has  passed  since  an  Emperor  of 
the  Romans,  tracing  his  unbroken  descent  from  Constan- 
tine  and  Augustus,  still  held  his  place  among  European 
sovereigns,  and,  as  Emperor  of  the  Romans,  still  claimed 
precedence  over  every  meaner  potentate.  And  the  title  of 
a  Roman  office,  the  surname  of  a  Roman  family,  is  still  the 
highest  object  of  human  ambition,  still  clutched  at  alike  by 
worn-out  dynasties  and  by  successful  usurpers.  Go  east- 
ward, and  the  whole  diplomatic  skill  of  Europe  is  taxed  to 
settle  the  affairs  of  a  Roman  colony,  which,  cut  off  alike 
by  time  and  distance,  still  clings  to  its  Roman  language 
and  glories  in  its  Roman  name.  We  made  war  but  yester- 
day upon  a  power  whose  badge  is  the  Roman  eagle,  on 
behalf  of  one  whose  capital  has  not  yet  lost  the  official  title 
of  New  Rome.  Look  below  the  surface,  and  the  Christian 
subjects  of  the  Porte  are  found  called  and  calling  themselves 
Romans;  go  beyond  the  Tigris,  and  their  master  himself 
is  known  to  the  votary  of  Allah  simply  as  the  Roman 
Caesar."  * 

The  kingdoms  of  to-day  are,  therefore,  as  this  prophecy 
pictured  them,  divisions  and  continuations  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  There  are  two  other  features  in  the  picture  which, 
to  say  the  least,  are  certainly  not  less  noteworthy. 

THE     NUMBER     OF    THE     KINGDOMS 

as  they  will  be  found  at  "  the  time  of  the  end"  is  definitely 
stated.  These  are  represented,  as  we  have  seen,  by  "the 
toes"  of  the  image,  and  in  the  second  vision  the  fourth 
beast  is  pictured  as  having  "  ten  horns."  The  horn  in  the 
Old  Testament  is  the  symbol  of  power,  and  the  meaning  of 
this  part  of  the  figure  evidently  is  that  the  fourth  dominion 
would  finally  develop  into  ten  "powers."  That  this  is  the 
*  Freeman;  "Historical  Essays — Second  Series,"  291,  292. 


THE    DESCRIPTION    OF    OUR    OWN    TIMES.  169 

meaning  is  placed  beyond  doubt  by  the  explanation — "As 
for  the  ten  horns,  out  of  this  kingdom  shall  ten  kings  arise  " 
(Dan.  vii.  24). 

As  we  look  back  over  the  recent  history  of  Europe  we 
must  be  struck  by  the  fact  that  this  part  of  the  prophecy 
is  being  rapidly 

FULFILLED    IN    OUR    OWN    TIMES. 

The  fragments  of  the  fourth  dominion  are  assuming 
their  final  shape.  The  last  line  of  division  between  the 
eastern  and  western  empires  passed  along  what  is  now  the 
western  boundary  of  Austria,  down  through  the  Adriatic, 
and  across  the  Mediterranean,  striking  the  coast  of  Africa 
to  the  west  of  Cyrene.  If  we  are  to  follow  the  indications 
of  the  first  vision,  we  shall  expect  to  find  five  kingdoms  in 
each  of  the  two  empires.  What  then  is  their  present 
condition?  It  has  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  northern 
limits  of  the  Roman  dominion  were  the  Rhine  and  the 
Danube.  Russia,  Norway  and  Sweden,  Denmark,  and 
Holland,  are,  therefore,  excluded  from  our  reckoning.  A 
few  years  ago  we  should  have  looked  in  vain  in  the  empire 
of  the  West  for  the  five  powers  of  the  prophecy.  But 
Germany,  which  was  previously  divided  into  five  kingdoms 
and  numerous  principalities,  has  latterly  become  one 
empire;  and  Italy,  which  was  similarly  subdivided,  is  now 
also  a  single  kingdom.  These  changes,  which  have  been 
among  the  surprises  of  modern  history,  give  us  in  the  old 
empire  of  the  west  eight  kingdoms — Great  Britain,  France, 
Spain,  Portugal,  Belgium,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Italy. 
Three  of  these,  Belgium,  Switzerland,  and  Portugal  will 
no  doubt  soon  cease  to  exist  as  separate  powers,  and  we 
shall  then  have  the  five  "poivers"  foretold  by  the  prophecy. 
Recent  changes  have  also  paved  the  way  for  its  fulfilment 
in  the  eastern  division  of  the  empire.  We  can  already 
mark  the  lines  of  a  fivefold  division  there.  There  are 
Austria,   the  Danubian  Principalities,   Greece,   Turkey,   and 


170       PROPHETIC    FORECAST    OF    THE    WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

Egypt.  Is  it  not  marvellous  that  we  should  now  have,  not 
only  the  indication  of  a  tenfold  division  of  the  fourth 
dominion,  but  five  kingdoms  in  each  of  the  two  great 
divisions  of  the  old  Roman  empire  ? 

All  these  marvels  are  excelled,  however,  by  another, 
which  I  may  describe  as  a  miracle  of  insight.  The  parts  of 
the  image  which  represent  the  four  dominions  regularly 

INCREASE    IN   STRENGTH. 

The  gold  is  softer  than  the  silver,  the  silver  than  the 
brass,  the  brass  than  the  iron.  Special  attention  is  directed 
to  this  feature  in  the  case  of  the  fourth  kingdom.  It 
"  shall  be  strong  as  iron  :  forasmuch  as  iron  breaketh  in 
pieces  and  subdueth  all  things,  and  as  iron  that  crusheth 
all  these,  shall  it  break  in  pieces  and  crush"  (Dan.  ii.  40). 
But  the  kingdoms  also  sustain  another  relationship  to  each 
other.     They  as  regularly 

DECREASE    IN    VALUE. 

Attention  is  called  to  this  fact  in  the  case  of  the  second 
kingdom.  The  prophet  said  to  the  king,  "Thou  art  the 
head  of  gold.  And  after  thee  shall  arise  another  kingdom 
inferior  to  thee  "  (Dan.  ii.  39). 

It  will  be  evident  that  the  statement  of  this  double 
relationship  indicates  discrimination  of  a  most  thorough- 
going character.  We  know  that  in  the  case  of  the  Greek 
and  Roman  kingdoms,  at  any  rate,  the  prediction  was 
fulfilled.  The  brass  was  stronger  than  the  gold  and  the 
silver,  and  the  iron  was  also  stronger  than  the  brass.  And 
this,  it  need  hardly  be  remarked,  was  not  a  necessity.  It 
was  not  necessary  that  each  succeeding  kingdom  should  be 
stronger  than  that  which  went  before  it.  A  great  kingdom 
may,  in  the  hour  of  its  weakness,  fall  a  prey  to  one  which, 
in  the  fulness  of  its  vigour,  it  would  have  regarded  as  a 
contemptible  adversary.  But  this  was  not  to  be  the  story 
of  the  future.     The  kingdoms  were  to  increase  in  strength, 


DANIEL    AND    HEGEL.  171 

and  the  last  was  to  be  the  strongest  of  all.  We  are  now 
met,  however,  by  the  startling  paradox  that  these  dominions, 
as  they  increase  in  strength  will  decrease  in  value,  and 
that  the  strongest  of  them  all  will  be  the  least  precious ! 
It  has  been  already  pointed  out  that,  in  the  king's  vision, 
history  is  read  from  the  view-point  of  ambition.  We  see 
the  future  as  it  is  scanned  by  a  Nebuchadnezzar  or  a 
Napoleon.  Our  eye  rests  on  the  mighty  prizes  which  lie 
in  the  pathway  of  conquest.  But,  while  this  explains  why 
the  kingdoms  are  described  in  regard  to  their  strength  and 
their  value,  it  increases  our  difficulty.  Surely,  we  say,  to 
the  ambitious  man  the  stronger  kingdom  must  necessarily 
be  the  more  valuable,  and  the  strongest  the  most  precious 
of  all.  Yet,  instead  of  this,  the  silver  of  the  second  is 
explained  as  indicating  an  inferior  dominion  to  the  first, 
and  consequently  the  iron  of  the  fourth  must  be  taken  as 
indicating  that  the  last  and  strongest  was  the  least  precious 
of  the  four. 

This  point  seems  to  have  quite  escaped  the  notice  of 
commentators,  and  there  is  no  help  to  be  had  in  consulting 
them.  Turning  again  to  the  prophecy  the  meaning  is  plain. 
The  dominions  so  differ  in  character  that  he,  who  possesses 
the  first,  holds  what  will  yield  to  ambition  a  fuller  satis- 
faction than  can  be  known  in  the  possession  of  any  of  the 
others.  To  the  man  of  ambition — the  man  who  lusts  after 
lordship  over  his  fellows — the  first  dominion  is  more 
precious  than  the  second,  the  second  than  the  third,  the 
third  than  the  fourth.  But,  while  the  meaning  is  plain,  its 
plainness  does  not  remove  our  difficulty.  Why  should  the 
strength  of  the  dominions  be  in  inverse  ratio  to  their  value  1 
Why  should  these  not  increase  or  decrease  together  1 

When  my  attention  was  first  attracted  to  this  feature 
in  the  prophecy,  it  seemed  to  me  that  light  might  be 
found  in  the  writings  of  those  who  dealt  with  Universal 
History,  and  of  such  especially  as  dealt  with  it  philoso- 
phically.      The     search    which    was     then    entered     upon 


172       PROPHETIC    FORECAST    OF    THE    WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

was  not  in  vain.  There  is  one  book  for  which  we  are 
indebted  to  one  of  Germany's  deepest  thinkers,  and  which 
deserves,  beyond  any  other  that  has  ever  been  written,  the 
name  of  a  Philosophy  of  History.  Its  merits  have  been 
widely  recognised,  and  have  been  as  freely  admitted  by 
the  opponents,  as  they  have  been  loudly  proclaimed  by 
the  disciples,  of  the  writer.  I  refer  to  the  well-known 
work  of  Hegel.  Morell  says  of  it:  "Hegel  has  given  us 
many  views  of  great  originality.  His  'Philosophy  of 
History'  is  especially  valuable,  as  containing  investiga- 
tions into  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  different  ages 
of  the  world,  that  throw  great  light  upon  the  intellectual 
progress  of  civilisation."*  Emil  Palleske  gives  it  still 
higher  praise.  He  refers,  in  his  life  of  Schiller,  to  Kant's 
treatise  on  "Ideas  for  a  Universal  History  considered  in  a 
cosmopolitan  light,"  and  says:  "Kant  in  this  compares 
himself  to  Kepler,  and  wished  that  he  might  have  a 
Newton  as  a  successor.     Hegel  became  this  Newton,  "f 

Turning  now  to  the  "Philosophy  of  History,"  we  find 
that  it  covers  the  entire  field  described  in  the  prophecy. 
It  contains  no  reference  whatever,  it  may  be  said,  to  the 
words  of  Scripture,  and  there  is  in  Hegel's  mind  apparently 
not  the  remotest  thought  of  them.  But  the  problem,  if  we 
may  so  call  it,  is  the  same.  Hegel  contemplates  the  History 
of  man  as  a  whole.  He  sees  in  the  successive  dominions, 
or  rather  in  the  conception  of  human  freedom  which  each 
embodies,  the  advancing  steps  of  a  continuous  develop- 
ment. The  first  thing  which  strikes  us  is  that  the  number 
of  these  stages  is  identical  with  that  in  the  Book  of  Daniel. 
There  are  five  developments.  There  is  the  childhood,  the 
boyhood,  the  youth,  the  manhood,  and  the  old  age  of 
history,  the  last  not  being  weakness  but  full  maturity. 
Then  these  five  are  divided  exactly  as  in  the  prophecy. 
There  are  four  dominions  of  man,  and  one  of  God  in  man. 
Hegel  saw  that  in  Christianity  civilisation   had   reached   a 

*  ' '  History  of  Modern  Philosophy,"  II. ,  154, 155.     t  Vol.  II. ,  32. 


DANIEL    AND    HEGEL.  173 

stage  which  it  never  had  attained  before,  and  that,  when 
Christianity  shall  have  done  its  work  and  permeated  all 
social  and  political  relationships,  the  last  and  highest  stage 
of  man's  development  will  be  reached. 

Even  these  coincidences  are  startling.  They  prove  that 
the  Scripture  looking  forward  and  the  philosopher  look- 
ing back  have  seen  the  same  things.  But  we  have  not 
exhausted  Hegel's  testimony.  He  deals  with  kingdoms, 
not  because  he  desires  to  trace  their  conquests  or  record 
the  influence  they  exerted  over  mankind,  but  merely  because 
it  is  only  when  men  have  been  gathered  into  states  that 
the  march  of  civilization  begins.  It  is  with  this  civilization 
alone  that  he  concerns  himself.  What  were  the  ideas 
which  lay  beneath  it,  and  moulded  it,  and  gave  it  its  dis- 
tinctive form?  As  Hegel  looked  back  over  the  past,  he 
saw  one  form  emerging  ever  more  fully  from  surrounding 
darkness  and  mist :  it  was  the  form  of  Freedom.  Men 
did  not  at  first  realize — at  least,  as  we  find  them  congre- 
gated together  in  states — all  that  they  were  as  men.  The 
state  was  in  the  beginning  merely  an  enlargement  of  the 
family.  Sovereignty  was  looked  upon  as  invested  with  all 
the  rights,  and  hedged  round  about  wTith  all  the  sanctity, 
of  fatherhood.  The  king  was  the  father  in  whose  care  all 
confided,  whose  frown  they  dreaded,  and  in  whose  smile 
they  rejoiced  He  alone  was  free ;  the  duty  of  every  other 
was  submission  to  his  will. 
This  was 

THE    CHILDHOOD    OF    HISTORY. 

Hegel  finds  the  fullest  illustration  of  it  in  China.  The 
ancient  economy  of  Babylon  was  almost  wholly  unknown 
in  Hegel's  time,  and  he  makes  only  a  passing  reference  to 
it ;  but  I  shall  show  that  every  feature,  which  he  notes  in 
the  condition  of  China,  has  its  parallel  in  that  of  the  Assyrio- 
Babylonian  monarchy.  Hegel  dwells  upon  the  slavery  of 
the  family  relations  in   China:  "The  duties  of   the  family 


174       PROPHETIC    FORECAST    OF    THE    WORLD' S    HISTORY. 

are  absolutely  binding  and  established  and  regulated  by 
law.  The  son  may  not  accost  the  father  when  he  comes 
into  the  room ;  he  must  seem  to  contract  himself  to  nothing 
at  the  side  of  the  door,  and  may  not  leave  the  room  without 
the  father's  permission."  *  With  this  compare  the  follow- 
ing :  "A  tablet  in  the  British  Museum  contains  a  fragment 
of  the  civil  law,  in  a  double  text — Turanian-Chaldasan  and 
Semitic -Asyrian — on  the  subject  of  the  rights  and  reci- 
procal duties  of  husbands  and  wives,  fathers  and  children. 
From  this  we  find  that  the  Assyrian  family  was  constituted 
on  the  basis  of  the  most  absolute  and  uncontrolled  power 
of  the  husband  and  the  father."  f  Then  of  China  Hegel 
says :  "  The  patriarchal  relation  is  predominant,  and  the 
government  is  based  upon  the  paternal  management  of 
the  emperor,  who  keeps  all  departments  of  the  State  in 
order.  .  .  .  He  is  the  patriarch,  and  everything  in  the 
State  that  can  make  any  claim  to  reverence  is  attached  to 
him.  .  .  The  emperor,  as  he  is  the  supreme  head  of 
the  State,  is  also  the  chief  of  its  religion."  i  Lenormant, 
referring  to  the  king's  humility  in  the  presence  of  the  gods, 
says,  "  But  this  man,  who  was  so  humble  in  the  presence 
of  the  gods,  held  in  his  hands,  with  regard  to  other  men, 
the  double  power,  spiritual  and  temporal ;  he  was  both  a 
sovereign  pontiff  and  an  autocrat;  he  was  called  the  vice- 
gerent of  the  gods  on  earth ;  and  his  authority,  thus 
emanating  from  a  divine  source,  was  as  absolute  over  the 
soul  as  the  body."  || 

One  more  twofold  quotation  will  complete  the  picture : 

"Besides  the  imperial  dignity  there  is  properly  no  elevated 

rank,  no  nobility  among  the  Chinese ;  only  the  princes  of 

the  imperial  house  and  the  sons  of  the  ministers  enjoy  any 

precedence  of  the  kind,  and  they  rather  by  their  position 

*  "Philosophy  of  History,"  127. 

f  Lenormant;  "Ancient  History  of  the  East,"  vol.  I.,  425. 

J  "Philosophy  of  History,"  126,  129,  137. 

|1  "Ancient  History,"  vol.  L,  418. 


DANIEL    AND    HEGEL.  175 

than  by  their  birth.  Otherwise  all  are  equal.  .  .  .  And 
though  there  is  no  distinction  conferred  by  birth,  and 
everyone  can  attain  the  highest  dignity,  this  very  equality 
testifies  to  no  triumphant  assertion  of  the  worth  of  the 
inner  man,  but  a  servile  consciousness — one  which  has  not 
yet  matured  itself  so  far  as  to  recognise  distinctions."* 
Of  the  Assyrio-Babylonian  civilization  Lenormant  speaks 
in  exactly  similar  terms :  "In  Assyria  there  were  no  castes, 
nor  even  rigorously  defined  classes,  no  hereditary  or  estab- 
lished aristocracy.  There  was  complete  social  equality, 
such  equality  as  despotism  desires  and  establishes  as  most 
favourable  to  its  own  existence — an  equality  with  a  common 
level  created  by  the  yoke  that  bears  equally  on  all,  where 
there  is  no  superiority  but  that  of  offices  established  by  the 
will,  often  by  the  caprice,  of  an  absolute  master."  f 

This,  then,  is  what  Hegel  has  well  described  as  the 
Childhood  of  history,  when  all  is  simple  and  trustful.  Here 
all  right  and  power  centre  in  the  monarch.  "Individuals 
remain  as  mere  accidents.  These  revolve  round  the  monarch, 
who  as  patriarch  .  .  .  stands  at  the  head.  .  .  .  All  the 
riches  of  imagination  are  appropriated  to  that  dominant 
existence  in  which  subjective  freedom  is  essentially  merged ; 
the  latter  looks  for  its  dignity  not  in  itself,  but  in  that 
absolute  object."  %  Could  there  be  a  finer  comment  on  the 
words,  "  Thou,  O  king,  art  this  head  of  gold ; "  or  on  these 
other,  "The  most  high  God  gave  Nebuchadnezzar  .  .  . 
a  kingdom,  and  majesty,  and  glory,  and  honour;  and  for 
the  majesty  that  he  gave  him,  all  people,  nations,  and 
languages,  trembled  and  feared  before  him  :  whom  he 
would  he  slew ;  and  whom  he  would  he  kept  alive ;  and 
whom  he  would  he  set  up ;  and  whom  he  would  he  put 
down'"?  (Dan.  v.  18,  19.)  On  the  one  side  there  was  the 
most  despotic  sway,  on  the  other  the  deepest  reverence, 
*  Hegel;  " Philosophy  of  History,"  130,  145. 
t  "Ancient  History,"  vol.  I.,  423. 
X  "Philosophy  of  History,"  111. 


176       PROPHETIC    FORECAST    OF    THE    WORLD' S    HISTORY. 

the  most  willing  and  unlimited  obedience.  To  the  lust  of 
ambition  what  nobler  prize  ever  presented  itself  than  to 
press  back  the  boundaries  of  such  a  dominion  till  they  were 
conterminous  with  the  world,  and  thus  to  become  the  centre 
of  all  earthly  power,  the  source  of  all  earthly  beneficence, 
the  one  object  of  human  reverence,  whose  thoughts  to  all 
men  were  wisdom,  whose  will  was  unquestioned  law1?  He 
who  swayed  this  sceptre  ruled  as  a  god  upon  the  earth. 
He  received  as  a  spontaneous  offering  from  men,  in  the 
childhood  of  their  history,  what  afterwards  the  world's  wealth 
could  not  buy,  nor  the  terrors  of  the  sword  compel.  This 
was  the  prize  of  "fine  gold." 
The  Persian  dominion  constitutes 

"THE    BOYHOOD    OF    HISTORY, 

no  longer  manifesting  the  repose  and  trustingness  of  the 
child,  but  boisterous  and  turbulent."  *  The  consciousness 
of  freedom,  or  rather  of  human  equality,  begins  to  dawn. 
In  the  comparatively  pure  religion  taught  by  Zoroaster 
another  mighty  presence  was  recognized,  before  whom  king 
and  subject  had  alike  to  bow.  "Ormuzd  is  the  Lord  of 
Light.  .  .  He  is  the  excellent,  the  good,  the  positive 
in  all  natural  and  spiritual  existence."  f  The  result  of  this 
purer  faith  was  twofold.  It  was  seen  in  the  toleration  of 
the  Persian  empire.  The  kingdoms  are  left  with  their  own 
religions,  institutions,  and  laws,  and  there  is  no  longer  any 
attempt  to  make  the  king  the  temporal  and  spiritual  head 
of  all  mankind.  ±  Nebuchadnezzar  commands  men  of  all 
nationalities  to  fall  down  and  worship  the  image  which  he 
sets  up,  and  is  quite  unable  to  comprehend  the  scruples  of 
the  few  pious  Jews  who  refuse  their  adoration  ;  while  Cyrus 
and  succeeding  Persian  kings  assist  in  rebuilding  the 
Jewish  Temple.  The  King  was  therefore  less  to  the  subject 
nations  in  this  second  than  he  had  been  in  the  preceding 
dominion. 

*  "Philosophy  of  History,"  112.       fibid.  186.       t  ibid.  120. 


THE   YOUTH    OF    HISTORY.  177 

But  there  was  another  result — the  relation  between  the 
monarch  and  his  own  people  was  changed.  "  The  Per- 
sians," says  Hegel,  "stood  with  one  foot  on  their  ancestral 
territory,  with  the  other  on  their  foreign  conquests.  In  his 
ancestral  land  the  king  was  a  friend  among  friends,  and  as 
if  surrounded  by  equals."  *  The  king  had  therefore  become 
less  to  his  own  people  than  the  Babylonian  monarch  had 
been  among  his.  But,  while  this  was  so,  it  was  as  yet  only 
the  boyhood  of  the  race.  The  glorious  form  of  liberty  was 
but  dimly  seen,  and  the  spirit  of  slavery  and  tyranny  was 
still  unexpelled.  "  The  subject  nations,"  says  Heeren,  "  were 
treated  as  property,  and  were  called  slaves,  in  contrast  with 
the  Persians,  who  on  their  side  were  called  freemen.  Such 
was  the  relation  of  the  nations  towards  each  other :  towards 
the  king  the  Persians  were  as  little  free  as  the  others."  But 
the  hand  now  laid  upon  the  nations  was  mightier  than 
that  which  they  had  felt  before;  for  this  was,  in  a  word, 
government  by  a  dominant  race,  whereas  in  the  previous 
case  it  had  been  government  by  a  dominant  personality. 
The  provinces  were  now  held  by  Persian  satraps.  The 
nations  were  led  into  battle,  not  by  their  own  princes,  but 
by  Persian  generals.  The  monarch  no  longer  stood 
among  all  the  peoples  and  tribes  of  his  dominion  the 
one  central  power  and  splendour.  He  was  king  of  the 
Persians,  and  they  controlled  for  him  the  rest.  Even  to  his 
own  he  was  not  the  gorgeous  personality  the  Babylonian 
king  had  been.  This  second  throne  was  still  a  great  prize 
for  ambition,  but  it  was  less  than  the  first.  And  yet,  as 
the  king  was  thus  multiplied,  so  to  speak,  into  a  nation, 
the  one  into  the  many,  it  necessarily  held  the  dominion 
with  a  firmer  grasp.  It  was  the  silver,  less  precious,  but 
stronger  than  the  gold. 

The  third  era — the  Grecian — is 

THE     YOUTH     OF     HISTORY. 

"The     Greek     world     may     be     compared,"     says    Hegel, 
*  ibid.,  196. 

M 


178  FORECAST    OF    THE   WORLDS    HISTORY. 

"with  the  period  of  adolescence,  for  here  we  have 
individualities  forming  themselves."  *  Freedom  had  its 
birth  among  the  Greeks,  and  their  tenacious  grasp  of  this 
principle  lay  at  the  root  of  their  glory  and  strength. 
Union  and  subordination  were  to  some  extent  necessary 
in  their  predatory  excursions,  and  in  their  contests  with 
neighbouring  cities  and  states,  but  they  jealously  guarded 
the  gift  of  freedom.  Their  hatred  of  a  master  still  breathes 
its  scornful  defiance  in  that  word  "tyrant,"  which  they 
have  bequeathed  to  us.  Here  it  was  no  longer  the  one 
who  was  free,  but  the  many.  Among  such  men  the  king 
could  only  be  a  general ;  and  even  this  rank  he  could  hold 
only  in  virtue  of  his  kingly  nature.  "The  relation  of 
princes  to  subjects,  we  learn  best  from  Homer.  .  .  Their 
subjects  obeyed  them,  not  as  distinguished  from  them  by 
conditions  of  caste,  nor  as  in  a  state  of  serfdom,  nor  in 
the  patriarchal  relation,  nor  yet  as  the  result  of  the  express 
necessity  for  a  consitutional  government,  but  only  from 
the  need,  universally  felt,  of  being  held  together  and  of 
obeying  a  ruler  accustomed  to  command.  The  prince  has 
just  so  much  personal  authority  as  he  possesses  the  ability 
to  acquire  and  to  assert."  f  It  was  the  commanding 
intellect  alone  that  could  be  monarch  here,  for  from  feeble 
hands  the  reins  would  soon  have  been  torn.  Even  under 
Alexander,  the  Grecian  armies  were  remarkable  for  their 
insolence  and  insubordination.  The  strength,  however, 
which  lay  in  this  consciousness  of  freedom  was  immense. 
Nothing  could  daunt  its  proud  and  noble  daring.  He  who 
held  this  dominion  controlled  a  power  which  was  then 
irresistible:  he  led  an  army  of  men.  But  his  glory  was 
less  than  that  of  the  world  conquerors  who  had  preceded 
him  :  for  he  ruled,  not  over  sons,  but  brothers  \  not  over 
slaves,  but  freemen.  The  brass  was  stronger,  and  yet  less 
precious  than  the  silver  and  the  gold. 
We  come  now  to 

*  "Philosophy  of  History,"  112.       f  ibid.,  239. 


THE   MANHOOD    OF    HISTORY.  179 

THE    MANHOOD    OF    HISTORY, 

the  Roman  State.  In  the  Grecian  idea  of  freedom  there 
was  caprice,  and  consequently,  turbulence  and  disorgani- 
zation. Each  man  was  a  law  to  himself.  This  idea  sufficed 
for  the  youth;  but  upon  the  man  there  now  broke  the 
majestic  vision  of  a  law  outside  man's  will,  to  which  the 
will  must  be  subjected,  and  by  which,  in  return,  freedom 
was  guarded.  Speaking  of  this  distinction,  Hegel  says : 
"The  Romans  completed  this  important  separation,  and  dis- 
covered a  principle  of  right  which  is  external ;  that  is,  one 
not  dependent  on  disposition  and  sentiment."  *  We  know 
how  law  was  reverenced  among  them.  "  In  order  to  obtain 
a  nearer  view  of  this  spirit,  we  must,"  says  Hegel  again, 
"pay  particular  attention  to  the  conduct  of  the  plebs 
in  times  of  revolt  against  the  patricians.  How  often, 
in  insurrection  and  anarchical  disorder,  were  the  plebs 
brought  back  into  a  state  of  tranquility  by  a  mere  form, 
and  cheated  of  the  fulfilment  of  its  demands,  righteous  or 
unrighteous ! "  f 

But  Rome  went  further.  The  will  was  bowed  to  one 
abstraction — Law :  the  whole  passion  and  strength  of  the 
Roman  nature  were  given  to  another — the  State.  "True 
manhood  acts  neither  in  accordance  with  the  caprice  of  a 
despot,  nor  in  obedience  to  a  graceful  caprice  of  its  own, 
but  works  for  a  general  aim — one  in  ivhich  the  individual 
perishes ,  and  realizes  his  own  private  object  only  in  that 
general  aim.  Free  individuals  are  sacrificed  to  the  severe 
demands  of  the  national  objects  to  which  they  must  sur- 
render themselves  in  this  service  of  abstract  generalization."  } 
The  Roman  did  not  give  up  his  liberty  to  a  master,  but  he 
resigned  it  willingly  to  the  State. 

It  may  be  well  to  notice  how  fully  all  this  is  borne  out 
by  the  great  master  of  Roman  history,  who  had  as  little 
thought  of  supporting  Hegel  as  of  supplying  materials  for 

*  ibid,  300.       f  ibid.,  298. 
X  ibid.,  113,  114. 


180  FORECAST    OF    THE   WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

a  comment  on  Scripture.  The  Romans,  says  Mommsen, 
were  "A  free  people,  understanding  the  duty  of  obedience, 
disowning  all  mystic  ideas  of  Divine  right,  absolutely 
equal  in  the  eye  of  the  law  and  one  with  another."  * 
"Wherever  in  Hellas  a  tendency  towards  national  union 
appeared,  it  was  based,  not  on  influences  directly  political, 
but  on  games  and  art :  the  contests  at  Olympia,  the 
poems  of  Homer,  the  tragedies  of  Euripedes,  were  the 
only  bonds  that  held  Hellas  together.  Resolutely,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Italian  surrendered  his  own  personal  will 
for  the  sake  of  freedom,  and  learned  to  obey  his  father 
that  he  might  know  how  to  obey  the  State.  In  such 
subjection  as  this,  individual  development  might  be  marred, 
and  the  germs  of  fairest  promise  in  man  might  be  arrested 
in  the  bud ;  the  Italian  gained  instead  a  feeling  of  father- 
land and  of  patriotism  such  as  the  Greek  never  knew,  and, 
alone  among  all  the  civilised  nations  of  antiquity,  succeeded 
in  working  out  national  unity  in  connection  with  a  consti- 
tution based  on  self-government — a  national  unity,  which 
at  last  placed  in  his  hands  the  supremacy,  not  only  over 
the  divided  Hellenic  stock,  but  over  the  whole  known 
world."  f  "  Life,  in  the  case  of  the  Roman,  was  spent 
under  conditions  of  austere  restraint,  and,  the  nobler  he 
was,  the  less  he  was  a  free  man.  .  .  But,  while  the 
individual  had  neither  the  wish  nor  the  power  to  be  ought 
else  than  a  member  of  the  community,  the  glory  and  the 
might  of  that  community  was  felt  by  every  individual 
citizen  as  a  personal  possession  to  be  transmitted  along 
with  his  name  and  his  homestead  to  his  posterity."  } 

This  voluntary  self-surrender  became  a  worship.  The 
highest  praise,  which  the  Roman  coveted,  was  to  have 
it  solemnly  declared  that  he  had  deserved  well  of  his 
country.  Kings,  consuls,  tribunes,  emperors  were  but  the 
servants  of  the  state.     Their  individual  glory  was  absorbed 

*  "History  of  Rome,"  L,  85. 
t  ibid.,  30,  31.  %  ibid,,  III.,  394. 


THE   MANHOOD    OF    HISTORY.  181 

in  the  surpassing  glory  of  this  abstraction :  the  man  was 
overshadowed  by  the  thing. 

Even  the  glory  of  the  Emperors  had  to  be  vailed :  "  The 
Caasar  was  in  truth,"  says  Dr.  Freeman,  "an  absolute 
monarch.  But  in  theory  he  was  only  a  citizen,  a  senator, 
a  magistrate.  The  Emperor  gave  his  vote  in  the  Senate 
like  another  Senator,  as  Prince  of  the  Senate  he  gave  the 
first  vote;  but  it  was  open  either  to  patriots  or  to  subtle 
flatterers  to  vote  another  way.  His  household  was  like 
that  of  any  other  Roman  noble;  he  mixed  with  other 
Roman  nobles  on  terms  of  social  equality;  he  had  no 
crowns  and  sceptres,  no  bendings  of  the  knee,  no  titles  of 
Majesty  or  Highness.  .  .  He  was  a  monarch  who 
reigned  without  a  particle  of  royal  show."  *  It  is  well 
known  how  fully  Augustus  recognised  the  fact  that  personal 
pretensions  would  be  utterly  destructive  of  this  enormous 
power,  and  how  assiduously  he  cast  away  everything  which 
would  proclaim  him  the  world's  master.  "The  emperors 
conducted  themselves  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  power 
with  perfect  simplicity,  and  did  not  surround  themselves 
with  pomp  and  splendour  in  Oriental  fashion.  We  find 
in  them  traits  of  simplicity  which  astonish  us.  Thus,  for 
example,  Augustus  writes  a  letter  to  Horace,  in  which  he 
reproaches  him  for  having  failed  to  address  any  poem  to 
him,  and  asks  him  whether  he  thinks  that  that  would 
disgrace  him  with  posterity."  f  He  ordered  a  palace,  which 
had  been  built  by  his  daughter  Julia,  to  be  pulled  down 
because  of  its  splendour. 

"It  was  not  individual  genius  that  ruled  in  Rome,  and 
through  Rome  in  Italy,  but  the  one  immoveable  idea  of  a 
policy — propagated  from  generation  to  generation  in  the 
Senate.  Immense  successes  were  thus  obtained  at  an 
immense  price.  In  the  Roman  commonwealth  nothing 
specially  depended  on  any  one   man,   either   on   soldier  or 

*  "Historical  Essays. "—Second  Series,  372,  373. 
t  Hegel;  "Philosophy  of  History,"  326. 


182  FORECAST    OF    THE   AVORLD's    HISTORY. 

general,  and  under  the  rigid  discipline  of  its  moral  police 
all  the  idiosyncracies  of  human  character  were  extinguished. 
Rome  reached  a  greatness  such  as  no  other  state  of 
antiquity  attained;  but  she  dearly  purchased  her  greatness 
at  the  sacrifice  of  the  graceful  variety,  of  the  easy  abandon, 
and  of  the  inward  freedom  of  Hellenic  life."*  It  was  no 
longer  their  fellow-creature  whom  men  served  and  for 
whom  they  sacrificed  themselves ;  it  was  Rome.  The 
highest  place  left  for  ambition  was  simply  to  be  the  first 
and  greatest  servant  of  the  State.  But  the  power  which 
the  stern,  deep  devotion  of  the  strong  Roman  soul  placed 
in  that  servant's  hand  was  the  mightiest  and  most  terrible 
the  world  had  ever  seen.  There  was  nothing  it  would  not 
dare;  there  was  nothing  it  could  not  do.  Though  less 
precious  to  ambition,  the  iron  was  srronger  than  the  gold, 
and  the  silver,  and  the  brass. 

So  far  the  agreement  is  remarkable,  but  Hegel  renders  it 
absolutely  complete.  He  notes  a  fifth  and  last  stage  in  the 
development,  which  he  calls 

THE     OLD    AGE     OF     HISTORY. 

He  explains  himself  thus :  "  The  old  age  of  nature  is  weak- 
ness;  but  that  of  the  spirit  is  its  perfect  maturity  and 
strength.  .  .  The  fourth  phase  " — it  must  be  remembered 
that  Hegel's  fourth  is  our  fifth,  as  he  reckons  the  first  and 
second  stages,  his  own  "childhood"  and  "boyhood  of 
history,    as    one — "the    fourth    phase    Begins    with    the 

RECONCILIATION  PRESENTED  BY  CHRISTIANITY  BUT  ONLY 
IN  THE  GERM,  WITHOUT  NATIONAL  OR  POLITICAL  DEVELOP- 
MENT." When  Christianity  has  permeated  the  national 
and  political  life,  the  fifth  kingdom  will  be  established;  in 
other  words,  the  crowning  development  of  history,  the 
"germ"  of  which  is  already  with  us,  is  "the  kingdom  of 
God."  It  only  remains  to  add  that,  as  is  implied  in  the 
prophecy  which  pictures  the  stone  falling  not  only  upon  the 
*  Mommsen,  I.,  471. 


THE    END    OF    HISTORY.  183 

iron  but  also  upon  the  brass,  the  silver,  and  the  gold,  the 
various  forms  of  past  civilisation  still  remain.  Their  hour  of 
might  has  passed  away,  but  they  themselves  still  exist.  The 
gold  has  still  its  representative  in  China  and  elsewhere,  the 
silver  in  such  countries  as  Russia  and  Turkey,  the  brass  in 
such  a  republic  as  Switzerland,  the  iron  in  those  common- 
wealths where  in  addition  to  Grecian  freedom  there  is  the 
Roman  unity  and  subordination. 

This,  it  will  be  observed,  is  not  the  testimony  of  distin- 
guished opinion,  but  of  facts.  The  facts  were  there  though 
it  needed  genius  to  discern  and  make  them  manifest  to  us. 
But  what  of  the  Book  in  which  all  was  written  from  of 
old?  How  was  it  that,  more  than  three-and-twenty  cen- 
turies before  Hegel  was  born,  and  when  the  past  he  was 
afterwards  to  read  had  just  begun  to  be,  Time's  entire  story 
was  already  written,  its  developments  numbered,  its  epochs 
clearly  marked,  and  their  inmost  meaning  declared?  By 
whom  was  it  that  the  future  was  so  deeply  searched  and  so 
fully  made  known  ?  There  can  be  but  one  reply.  In  a  dull 
and  cloudy  day  the  very  light  around  us,  subdued  though  it 
be,  compels  the  belief  that  the  sun,  though  we  do  not  see 
him,  is  shining  in  the  sky.  But  when  the  veil  of  clouds  has 
been  rolled  away,  and  his  full  radiance  is  poured  upon  us, 
there  is  no  more  room  for  inference  or  argument :  every 
eye  must  note  his  glory.  And  so  here  we  behold  in  un- 
veiled splendour  that  full  inspiration  of  the  Divine  Spirit, 
the  presence  of  which  we  feel  in  every  one  of  those  words 
that  search  the  hidden  things  of  man's  heart  and  the  deep 
things  of  God — an  inspiration  which  no  lowly  heart  will 
ever  try  to  explain  away,  and  which,  in  the  face  of  these 
"abiding  miracles  of  prophecy,"  no  honest  mind  will 
seek  to  deny.  And  not  only  does  it  demonstrate  the 
full  inspiration  of  Scripture,  it  proves  that  God  reigns  in  the 
earth  and  guides  it  on  to  good.  It  reminds  us  that,  as  the 
past  has  accomplished  His  will,  so  the  present  and  the 
future  will  hasten  the  world's  salvation.     The  stone,  mira- 


184  FORECAST    OF    THE   WORLD'S    HISTORY. 

culous  in  its  origin,  cut  out  of  the  mountain-side  without 
hands,  will  yet  smite  the  toes  of  the  image  and  grind  the 
whole  of  it  to  powder.  Christ  will  come  again,  and  righte- 
ousness and  love  and  peace  will  bless  the  earth,  which  man's 
dominions  have  mocked  and  scourged.  Let  us  interpret 
the  earth's  need  and  lift  the  cry,  "Thy  Kingdom  come!" 
Let  us  yield  ourselves,  and  let  Him  reign  in  us  now,  so  that 
when  He  does  come,  it  may  not  be  with  condemnation  but 
with  joy. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


PROPHECIES     FULFILLED     IN     THE    COMING,     THE 
HISTORY,    AND     THE    WORK    OF     CHRIST. 


HE  EVIDENCE,  with  which  we  have  hitherto  been 
dealing,  has  been  accumulating  round  one  or  two 
points.  Whatever  doubts  we  may  have  enter- 
tained regarding  the  existence  of  God  and  the  authority 
of  the  Scriptures,  we  may  make  bold  to  say  that  the  study 
of  the  predictions  discussed  in  these  pages  is  calculated  to 
result  in  deep  and  abiding  conviction.  No  one  can  com- 
pare those  forecasts,  so  minute  and  circumstantial,  with 
their  complete  fulfilment  so  many  ages  afterwards,  and  not 
feel  assured  that  God  is,  and  that  His  power  is  round  us 
now,  and  that  the  Bible,  wondrous  in  so  many  ways 
besides,  finds  its  explanation  in  this  alone — that  it  is  His 
word  to  us. 

This  might  have  been  enough  to  lead  us  to  accept  its 
testimony  regarding  the  person  and  work  of  Jesus  Christ. 
A  piece  of  metal,  said  to  be  gold,  is  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  jeweller.  He  applies  his  tests  here  and  there  with 
satisfactory  results,  and  then  accepts  the  whole  without 
the  slightest  misgiving  that  it  is  what  it  was  declared  to  be. 
A  messenger  comes  with  important  intelligence.  If  it 
true,  it  ought  to  be  acted  upon  at  once.  There  may  be 
no  means  at  hand  of  directly  testing  its  truth,  but  it  may 
be  possible  to  determine  whether  the  messenger  is  trust- 
worthy or  not.     His  story  may  be  sifted,  or  he  may  bear 


186  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    CHRIST. 

credentials,  the  production  of  which  will  banish  every 
shadow  of  doubt.  The  Bible  comes  offering  us  in  God's 
name  salvation  through  Christ.  If  that  is  indeed  God's 
offer,  it  calls  for  immediate  and  grateful  acceptance.  Now, 
for  determining  whether  it  is  of  God,  we  repeat  that  such 
evidence  as  we  have  already  before  us  might  have  been 
enough.  We  have  tested  the  Scripture  and  found  it  to  be 
truth.  The  credentials  of  this  messenger  have  been  pro- 
duced, and  these  have  settled  the  question  whether  the 
message  is  from  God. 

But  we  are  not  compelled  to  rest  upon  that  testimony. 
Direct  evidence  that  this  message  of  grace  is  indeed  of 
God,  has  been  given  in  ungrudged  abundance,  and  the 
wonders  of  prophecy  have  been  made  to  cluster  round 
what  is  really  the  central  truth  of  Scripture.  Before  touch- 
ing, however,  upon  these  predictions,  it  is  needful  to  say  a 
word  or  two  regarding  the  age  of  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures.  We  have  hitherto  been  content  with  the 
admission  that  they  are  as  old  as  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  era.  In  dealing  with  predictions  which  were 
accomplished  long  after  that  period,  and  even  in  our  own 
time,  nothing  more  was  required.  But  in  taking  up  pre- 
dictions, which  were  fulfilled  at  that  very  point  in  the 
world's  history,  this  admission  is  no  longer  sufficient.  Can 
it  be  placed  beyond  the  possibility  of  disproof  or  doubt, 
that  there  was  such  an  interval  between  the  prophecy  and 
the  events  it  foretold,  that  no  human  foresight  can  account 
for  its  existence? 

Fortunately  this  point  can  be  settled  briefly  and  con- 
clusively. There  is  no  need  for  any  prolonged  discussion,  or 
any  long  array  of  proofs.  The  books  of  the  Old  Testament 
were  translated  into  Greek,  at  least  two  hundred  years 
before  the  birth  of  our  Lord.  The  Septuagint  version,  so 
called  because  the  work  of  translation  was  done  by  about 
seventy  learned  Jews,  was  everywhere  in  use  among  the 
Jews,   who  were  scattered  throughout  the  Roman  Empire 


THE    AGE    OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  187 

long  before  the  Christian  era.  Philo,  who  was  born  some 
thirty  years  before  Christ,  speaks  of  the  translation  as 
already  ancient,  and  mentions  that  an  annual  festival  was 
observed  at  Alexandria  in  commemoration  of  the  work. 
"Even  to  this  very  day,"  he  says,  "there  is  every  year  a 
solemn  assembly  held,  and  a  festival  celebrated,  in  the 
island  of  Pharos,  to  which  not  only  the  Jews  but  a  great 
number  of  persons  of  other  nations  sail  across,  reverencing 
the  place  in  which  the  first  light  of  interpretation  shone 
forth,  and  thanking  God  for  that  ancient  piece  of  benefi- 
cence which  was  always  young  and  fresh." 

There  is  no  reason  then  to  doubt  that  the  translation 
was  begun  in  the  reign  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  about 
280  B.C.,  and  that  it  was  completed  not  long  after.  We 
might  therefore  have  insisted  upon  an  earlier  date  than 
200  b.c.  for  the  origin  of  the  Greek  version.  We  might 
have  argued  also  that,  seeing  the  translation  was  then 
made,  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  must  be  admitted 
to  be  still  older;  for  they  must  have  been  received  and 
venerated  as  God's  word  long  before  the  necessity  was  felt 
for  translating  them  from  the  Hebrew  into  that  tongue, 
which  the  conquests  of  Alexander  had  made  the  universal 
language  of  the  time.  But  it  is  enough  for  our  purpose  to 
take  the  smallest  interval  which  can  be  assigned,  and  we 
content  ourselves,  therefore,  with  the  admission  that  the 
prophecies  were  completed  and  in  men's  hands  two 
centuries  before  our  Lord  appeared.  The  admission  is 
more  than  enough.  Who  can  look  down  through  the  next 
fifty  years,  or  even  the  next  twenty,  and  describe  the 
changes  they  will  bring  1  And  two  centuries !  Who  could 
lift  the  vail  made  of  those  two  hundred  years,  and  paint  as 
clearly  and  livingly  as  we  see  them  now  the  things  which 
were  then  to  be  1 

The  predictions  with  which  we  are  now  to  deal,  seem  to 
me  sufficient  on  the  very  face  of  them  to  prove  the  claims 
of    the    Old    Testament    Scriptures    and    of    Christianity. 


188  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    CHRIST. 

Everyone  admits  that  they  are  woven  into  the  very  fabric 
of  the  Old  Testament.  "The  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the 
Spirit  of  Prophecy."  All  are  aware  that,  though  the  light 
of  the  Old  Testament  was  at  first  confined  to  Israel,  it 
proclaimed  from  the  very  beginning  a  "larger  hope." 
The  better  time,  for  which  Israel  looked,  was  to  be  a  time 
of  blessing  for  all  mankind.  The  blessing  was  to  spring 
up  in  Israel,  but  it  was  not  to  be  confined  to  Israel.  Jew 
and  Gentile  were  alike  to  rejoice.  A  new  covenant  was  to 
be  made  with  men,  not  like  that  which  had  been  made 
with  Israel  at  Sinai,  and  which  had  never  uprooted  sin 
from  the  heart.  The  Spirit  of  God  was  to  be  poured  out 
upon  all  flesh.  The  nations  were  to  cast  away  their  idols; 
for  the  light  was  to  shine  from  Zion,  and  the  law  of  the 
Lord  to  go  forth  from  Jerusalem. 

We  are  so  familiar  with  these  and  the  like  predictions 
that  references  are  unnecessary.  But  familiarity  may  con- 
ceal their  marvellousness.  We  are  all  aware  that  in  those 
old  times  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  was  confined  to 
the  narrow  territory  of  the  Jews ;  that  each  people  had  its 
own  gods;  and  that  the  idea  of  a  nation  exchanging  its 
religion  for  another  was  quite  foreign  to  the  experience  and 
the  thought  of  the  ancient  world.  Is  it  not  wonderful  then 
to  find  the  hope  burning  on  in  the  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
tures, and  brightening  as  the  ages  advance,  that  a  day  would 
come  when  the  idolatries  of  the  nations  would  be  numbered 
with  the  things  of  the  past,  that  the  God  of  Israel  would  be 
worshipped  and  served  in  far-off  lands,  and  that  distant  isles 
would  wait  for  His  law?  That  expectation  is  absolutely 
without  parallel.  There  is  nothing  like  it  in  any  literature 
besides.  Neither  philosopher  nor  poet  had  ever  dreamed 
of  a  brotherhood  of  man  founded  upon  universal  sonship  to 
God.  How  then  is  it  that  we  find  this  in  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures  not  only  as  an  aspiration,  but  as  a  clear  and  oft- 
repeated  prediction,  a  confident  and  jubilant  expectation? 
Whence  was  it  that  this  idea,  which  never  stirred  in  human 


THE  REVOLUTION  TO  BE  THE  WOEK  OF  ONE  MAN.  189 

heart  besides,  fell  upon  the  soil  of  Jewish  thought?  How 
did  it  happen  that  it  remained  and  flourished  there  so  that 
to  pour  this  light  upon  the  nations  was  regarded  as  the 
destiny  of  the  Jewish  people  1  But  add  to  this  that,  as 
these  Scriptures  said  it  should  be,  so  it  has  been.  The 
idolatries  of  the  nations  have  disappeared,  and  are  dis- 
appearing now.  The  knowledge  of  the  true  God  has  broken 
like  a  flood  over  the  darkened  earth.  The  far-off  isles  have 
received  His  law.  And  this  light  which  has  enlightened 
the  nations,  has  shone  out  from  Zion,  this  law  has  gone 
forth  from  Jerusalem.  Put  the  strange  prediction  and  its 
wondrous  accomplishment  together,  and  shall  we  not  say- 
that  both  are  from  God  ?  Can  any  one  fail  to  see  that  the 
Word  and  the  Work,  the  Old  Testament  and  Christianity, 
are  here  alike  stamped  with  God's  seal  1 

But  there  is  more  to  account  for  than  this  strange,  confi- 
dent outlook  and  its  equally  strange  fulfilment.  There  was 
one  central  figure  in  Israel's  hope :  the  leading  back  of  the 
nations  to  God  was  to  be 

THE    WORK    OF    ONE    MAN. 

All  know  how  this  is  stamped  upon  every  promise  of 
the  world's  redemption.  From  first  to  last  it  is  to  be  the 
work  of  the  Messiah.  It  is  He  who  is  to  bruise  the  serpent's 
head.  In  Him  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  are  to  be  blessed. 
"  All  kings  shall  fall  down  before  Him  :  all  nations  shall 
serve  Him.  .  .  .  He  shall  have  pity  on  the  poor  and 
needy,  and  the  souls  of  the  needy  He  shall  save.  .  . 
His  name  shall  endure  for  ever"  (Ps.  lxxii).  The  world's 
salvation  begins,  is  continued,  and  perfected  in  Him.  So 
clearly  is  this  taught  in  the  Old  Testament  that  the  hope  of 
the  Jews  became  the  hope  of  the  Messiah.  The  following 
are  some  of  the  petitions  in  their  ancient  prayers :  "O  that 
Elias  would  come  quickly  with  Messias  the  son  of  David"; 
"Send  the  Branch  of  David  in  our  days";  "By  the  hand 
of  Ben  Issai  (the  son  of  Jesse)  the  Bethlehemite  bring  near 


190  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    CHRIST. 

the  redemption ;  How  long  will  He  tarry " ;  "  Let  the 
memory  of  Messias,  the  son  of  David,  thy  servant,  come 
before  Thee."  Numerous  as  are  the  quotations  from  the 
Old  Testament,  which  are  applied  to  Jesus  in  the  New,  they 
are  far  out-numbered  by  the  passages  applied  to  the  Messiah 
in  the  Rabbinical  writers.  They  believed  that  it  was  the 
one  purpose  of  the  Scripture  to  testify  of  Him.  "The 
Jewish  doctors  tell  us  '  that  all  the  prophets,  none  excepted, 
prophesied  only  of  the  years  of  the  redemption,  and  the 
days  of  the  Messiah.'  'All  from  Moses  our  Master,'  says 
Maimonides,  'to  Malachi  of  blessed  memory.'  'They  all,' 
says  Abarbanel,  'moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  testify  and 
foretell  the  coming  of  the  Messiah.' "  * 

This,  then,  was  the  hope  of  the  Old  Testament.  It  was 
contained  in  books  which  we  and  the  Jews  alike  revere  to 
this  day,  and  which  were  translated  into  the  Greek  tongue 
two  centuries  before  Christ  came.  It  was  so  clearly  and 
emphatically  announced,  it  was  so  frequently  declared,  that 
it  filled  the  thought  of  the  Jewish  people  with  glowing 
anticipation.  And  it  was  an  expectation  which  from  first 
to  last  rested  upon  one  man.  It  was  not  a  blessing  which 
was  to  come  men  knew  not  whence,  nor  how.  They  looked 
for  the  Messiah.  The  hope  of  Israel  and  of  all  peoples  lay 
in  Him.  He  only  would  touch  the  world's  heart  and  roll 
away  the  world's  burden.  And  the  work  which  He  began, 
He  should  continue.  His  influence  was  pictured  as  going 
on  broadening  and  deepening  through  all  after  time  :  "  His 
name  shall  be  continued  as  long  as  the  sun ;  and  men  shall 
be  blessed  in  Him ;  all  nations  shall  call  Him  blessed " 
(Ps.  lxxii.   17). 

Now,  it  will  be  admitted  that  the  hope  was,  in  this  asjDect 
of  it,  quite  as  marvellous  as  in  the  other  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken.  The  Jews  were  not  ignorant  of  the  limita- 
tions of  human  greatness.  They  had  had  great  men  who 
had  left  their  impress  upon  the  institutions  and  the  life  of 
*  Lyall ;  "Propda'ia  Prophetica,"  124. 


THE  REVOLUTION  TO  BE  THE  WORK  OF  ONE  MAN.  191 

their  country,  but  none  of  them  had  ever  done,  or  had  ever 
dreamed  of  attempting,  such  a  work  as  this.  Their  plans, 
like  their  activity,  had  been  directed  to  the  needs  of  their 
own  people.  Who  among  them  had  ever  borne  upon  his 
heart  the  world's  burden,  and  dreamed  of  meeting  the 
world's  need  1  Who  had  ever  imagined  that  in  him  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  would  be  blessed'?  Then  their  work 
had  been  limited  by  time  as  well  as  by  ability.  How  often 
had  Israel  reason  to  ask  "  the  fathers — where  are  they  1  and 
the  prophets — do  they  live  for  ever?"  The  mightiest  had 
had  to  succumb  to  death,  and  his  place  was  taken  and  his 
work  carried  on  by  some  other  servant  whom  God  also 
honoured  and  upheld.  The  ages  had  never  before  been 
chained  to  any  one  man.  Whence  then  can  the  hope  have 
sprung  that  one  should  be  born  who  would  be  the  source 
of  an  undying  influence,  who  would  dominate,  and  guide, 
and  bless  men  not  only  of  His  own  generation  but  of  all 
after  time"?  And  this  is  not  the  only  marvel.  The  hope 
was  as  sure  as  it  was  strange.  The  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
tures looked  forward  with  confident  and  glowing  anticipation 
to  the  coining  of  One  who  should  change  the  current  of  the 
world's  thought.  And  we  have  to  testify  that  One  man  has 
appeared — the  one  man  of  all  time — by  whom  this  has  been, 
and  is  now  being,  done.  The  name  of  Jesus  still  lives 
upon  our  lips — His  power  rests  upon  our  hearts.  Call  it 
fanaticism  if  you  will ;  say,  if  you  choose,  that  this  faith  in  a 
living  Christ,  which  has  endured  for  eighteen  centuries  and  is 
spreading  among  the  tribes  of  the  earth  to-day,  is  a  hallu- 
cination. Let  such  explanations  be  received  with  what 
favour  they  may,  these  theories  themselves  testify  that  this 
faith  exists  and  that  it  is  a  power.  That  is  to  say,  one  man 
has  arisen,  whose  surpassing  excellence  they  admit,  and 
through  faith  in  whom  the  work,  which  is  bringing  nations 
to  God,  has  been  carried  on  through  age  after  age  and  is 
being  carried  on  now.  His  name  has  been  "continued," 
men  are    "blessed  in  Him,"   and  many  nations   "call  Him 


192  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    CHRIST. 

blessed."  Shall  we  say  that  it  is  a  mere  coincidence  that 
this  strange  hope  has  been,  and  is  still  being,  answered  by 
this  strange  fact  in  the  world's  story? 

The  predictions  regarding  the  Messiah  would  have  been 
wonderful  had  they  never  advanced  beyond  these  points. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  fulness  of  knowledge  which 
the  Old  Testament  claimed  was  a  reality  there  was  no 
reason  why  its  revelation  of  the  future  should  not  be  still 
more  explicit.  There  was  reason  rather  that  miracles  of 
prophecy  should  be  gathered  around  this  central  hope  of 
Scripture  more  fully  than  elsewhere.  And  this  expectation 
has  been  fully  realised.  The  nature  of  the  Redeemer's 
work,  and  even  His  character  and  history,  are  so  minutely 
described  that  it  is  possible  to  compile  a  history  of  Christ 
and  Christianity  merely  from  the  prophecies.  For  one 
thing  the  Saviour,  for  whom  the  world  waited, 

WAS    TO    BE    A    JEW. 

It  was  recorded  that  it  was  said  to  Abraham,  "in  thy 
seed"  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed.  There 
are  other  predictions  which  named  the  tribe,  and  even  the 
family,  from  which  he  was  to  spring,  and  the  very  town  in 
which  he  should  be  born.  I  mention  these  latter  predictions 
merely  to  remind  the  reader  how  definite  and  clear  the 
prediction  was  that  the  Saviour  of  the  world  was  to  be  a 
Jew.  He  was  to  be  born  in  a  Jewish  town,  and  to  be  a 
descendant  of  the  noblest  family  in  the  leading  tribe  of 
Israel.  Had  there  been  no  real  foresight  in  these  pre- 
dictions, every  step  taken  in  the  direction  of  increased 
definiteness  multiplied  the  chances  of  exposure.  It  was 
going  far  to  say  that  a  time  was  coming  when  the  nations 
would  cast  away  their  idols.  It  was  going  further  to  affirm 
that  this  revolution  should  be  the  work  of  one  man.  But 
to  define  the  hope  still  more,  and  to  say  that  he  should 
spring  from  this  race  and  no  other,  was  to  court  defeat 
a  thousandfold.     What,  then,    is   the   result?     The   answer 


THE  YEAR  OF  HIS  APPEARING  FORETOLD.      193 

can  be  given  in  one  word.  There  has  been  no  defeat. 
The  blessing  for  which  the  world  waited — the  blessing  of 
light,  and  peace,  and  strength  to  seek  a  better  way — has 
come  through  one  man,  and  that  man  was  a  Jew. 

We  have  to  mark,  however,  still  greater  things  than 
these.  The  readers  of  the  Old  Testament  were  not  merely 
told  that  Christ  should  come :  they  were  also  told  when 
He  should  appear. 

THE    VERY    YEAR 

when  He  should  be  manifested  to  Israel,  and  should  enter 
upon  His  work,  was  fixed  centuries  before.  We  have 
already,  in  the  previous  chapter,  proved  the  wonderful 
character  of  the  book  of  Daniel.  That  book  has  also 
another  claim  upon  our  attention,  for  it  contains  one  of  the 
most  marvellous  predictions  regarding  the  Messiah.  In 
the  ninth  chapter  it  is  recorded  that  the  prophet  was  told 
that  "seventy  weeks  (literally  seventy  sevens)  are  decreed 
upon  thy  people  and  upon  thy  holy  city,  to  finish  trans- 
gression, and  to  make  an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make 
reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  to  bring  in  everlasting 
righteousness,  and  to  seal  up  vision  and  prophecy,  and  to 
anoint  the  most  holy"  (Dan.  ix.  24).  This  prolonged 
description  is  enough  to  assure  us  that  the  finger  is  here 
laid  upon  the  advent  and  the  work  of  Christ.  It  was  His 
alone  "to  finish  transgression,  to  make  an  end  of  sins,  and 
to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity."  We  are  not,  how- 
ever, abandoned  to  the  guidance  of  inference.  Christ  is 
distinctly  named.  The  prophet  was  bid  to  mark  "that, 
from  the  going  forth  of  the  commandment  to  restore  and 
to  build  Jerusalem,  unto  Messiah  (the  Anointed  One),  the 
Prince,  shall  be  seven  weeks  and  three  score  and  two 
weeks"  (ver.  25) — that  is  in  all  69  weeks,  or,  more 
literally,   69  sevens. 

It   will   be    observed   that   in   this  last  enumeration  one 
seven   of   the   seventy   is  omitted.     That  seven  is  reserved 

N 


194:  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    CHRIST. 

for  special  notice.  We  are  told  that,  after  the  three  score 
and  two  weeks  following  the  previous  seven  weeks,  the 
Messiah  "shall  be  cut  off,"  that  is,  He  is  to  die  by- 
violence.  And  now  the  statement  is  concluded :  "  And 
He  shall  make  a  firm  covenant  with  many  for  one  week, 
and  for  the  half  of  the  week"  (literally  "and  half  of  the 
week,"  that  is,  when  the  week  had  half  passed,  or  according 
to  the  translation  in  the  margin,  "in  the  midst  of  the 
week"),  "He  shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  the  oblation  to 
cease"  (ver.  27).  No  one  needs  to  be  told  that  the 
sacrifice  and  the  oblation — all  the  offerings  appointed  by 
the  law — ceased  when  that  to  which  they  pointed,  namely, 
the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  was  accomplished.  We  have, 
therefore,  here  again  the  death  of  the  Messiah,  and  it  is 
spoken  of  as  taking  place  in  the  midst  of  the  last  seven  of 
the  seventy. 

As  to  what  these  "  sevens  "  are,  there  can  be  no  difficulty. 
The  same  phrase  occurs  in  Leviticus  xxv.  8,  where  "seven 
sabbaths  (or  sevens)  of  years"  are  spoken  of  as  the  period 
which  is  to  elapse  between  each  Jubilee.  The  Jews  indeed 
were  commanded  to  reckon  time  in  this  way.  Every 
seventh  year  the  land  was  to  enjoy  its  sabbath  and  to 
remain  untilled.  When  seven  sevens  were  completed,  the 
Jubilee  was  proclaimed,  and  every  Jewish  slave  was  freed, 
and  every  poor  man's  land,  which  had  been  sold,  was 
restored  to  him  or  his  children.  These  had  been  to  the 
Jews  mere  ideal  institutions.  The  laws  stood  upon  the 
statute  book,  but  they  were  not  observed.  By  reckoning 
in  this  way,  the  years  which  stood  between  Israel  and  their 
hope,  it  may  have  been  indicated  that  these  observances 
were  still  demanded  by  God,  and  that  the  hope  was  for 
those  who  feared  and  obeyed.  At  all  events  the  numbers 
are  numbers  of  years.  It  seems  to  have  been  an  occasional, 
if  not  a  customary,  mode  of  reckoning  time.  In  Genesis 
xxix.  27,  28,  we  read  that  Laban  said  to  Jacob  :  "  Fulfil 
her  week  (her  seven)  and  we  will  give  thee  this  also  for 


THE  YEAR  OF  HIS  APPEARING  FORETOLD.      195 

the  service  which  thou  wilt  serve  with  me  yet  seven  other 
years.  And  Jacob  did  so,  and  fulfilled  her  week  (her 
seven)."  The  70  sevens  are,  then,  490  years,  and  the  69 
sevens  are  483  years. 

But  from  what  point  was  the  reckoning  to  begin  ?     For 
this  the  prophet  is  referred  to  an  event  which,   when  the 
words  were   spoken,   was   still   future.      It   was   the   going 
forth  of  a  commandment  to  restore  and  to  build  Jerusalem, 
which  was  then   deserted   and   in  ashes.      On  referring  to 
the  books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  which  give  us  the  history 
of  the  period  immediately  following  the  captivity,  we  find 
that  four  decrees   are   recorded.      The  first,   however,   only 
grants  permission  to  the  Jews  to  return  and  to  build  the 
Temple  (Ezra  i.   1,   4).      There   is  nothing  said  about  the 
restoring  and  rebuilding  of  the  city.      The  second  decree  is 
a  mere  reiteration  of  the  first.     It  provides  for  the  rebuild- 
ing of  the  Temple  and  the  supply  of  what  is  needful  for 
the  Temple  service  (Ezra  vi.  1,  12).     But  in  the  following 
chapter  a  third  decree  is  recorded  which  differs  materially 
from  the  others.     It  is  nothing  less  than  a  re-institution  of 
the  Jewish  state,  and  the  restoring  to  Jerusalem  her  queenly 
prerogatives.     Hitherto  Judea  had  been  under  the  dominion 
of   a   Persian   satrap,    but   Ezra   himself   is   now   appointed 
governor,   and  the  laws  of   the  land  are  once  more  to  be 
those  which  God  gave  to  Israel:    "And  thou,  Ezra,  after 
the   wisdom   of   thy   God   that   is   in   thine   hand,    appoint 
magistrates  and  judges  which  may  judge  all  the  people  which 
are  beyond  the  river,   all   such  as  know  the   laws   of   thy 
God "  (Ezra  vii.  25).     This  was  accompanied  by  full  power 
of    imprisonment   and    death   (ver.    26).      Power   was    also 
given,  not  only  to  restore  Jerusalem  to  her  ancient  authority, 
but  also  to  rebuild  and  even  to  fortify  the  city,  for  Ezra  in 
a  public  thanksgiving  says  that  God  had  given  them    "a 
wall  in  Judah  and  Jerusalem"   (ix.   9).      From  the  fourth 
decree,    issued    some    years    afterward    to   Nehemiah,    it   is 
evident  that  the  returned  exiles  had  not  been  able  to  take 


196  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING   CHRIST. 

advantage  of  their  opportunities.  The  decree  had  filled  the 
breasts  of  those  who  remained  in  Babylon  with  the  brightest 
expectations.  They  beheld  in  imagination  Jerusalem 
emerging  again  from  her  ashes.  They  saw  temple  and  city 
and  battlements  rising  once  more  in  the  beauty  and  majesty 
of  which  their  fathers  had  told  them.  Nehemiah's  disappoint- 
ment and  grief  were  consequently  intense,  when  he  learned 
how  little  had  been  done,  and  that  the  wall  of  Jerusalem 
was  still  broken  down  and  its  gates  burned  with  fire 
(Nehemiah  i.  3).  A  fourth  decree  was  therefore  obtained, 
in  accordance  with  which  the  work  of  restoration  was 
finally  accomplished.  But  it  is  from  the  issuing  of  the 
third  that  we  are  now  to  reckon,  for  the  69  sevens  or  483 
years  were  to  begin,  not  from  the  accomplishment  of  the 
work,  but  "from  the  going  forth  of  the  commandment  to 
restore  and  to  build  Jerusalem." 

The  date  of  the  third  decree  is,  accordingly,  the  point 
from  which  our  calculation  begins.  It  was  issued,  we  are 
told,  in  the  seventh  year  of  Artaxerxes,  King  of  Persia 
(Ezra  vii.  7).  He  began  to  reign  in  463  B.C.,  and  his 
seventh  year  was  accordingly  457  B.C.  There  is  only  one 
other  matter  which  needs  to  be  ascertained  before  we 
apply  our  results.  We  have  fixed  the  point  from  which 
the  483  years  begin,  and  it  only  remains  to  fix  with  equal 
precision  that  at  which  they  end.  As  to  the  latter  there  is 
no  necessity  for  agument :  it  can  only  be  the  beginning 
of  our  Lord's  ministry.  In  the  last  seven,  the  only  one 
remaining  of  the  70,  He  confirms  "the  covenant  with 
many."  It  is  three  and  a  half  years  also  before  His  death, 
for  "  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  "  that  offering  is  to  be  made, 
by  which  "He  hath  perfected  for  ever  them  that  are 
sanctified." 

Let  us  now  see  how  the  prophetic  accords  with  the 
historic  date.  483  is  457  and  26  ;  and,  measuring  onward 
from  457  B.C.,  the  69  sevens,  or  483  years,  take  us  on  to  the 
year  26  of  our  era.     26  a.d.  is,  then,  the  year,  according  to 


THE  YEAR  OF  HIS  APPEARING  FORETOLD.      197 

the  prediction,  when  the  Lord's  ministry  was  to  begin. 
What  now  was  the  actual  date  of  its  commencement  1  We 
are  told  that,  when  our  Lord  entered  upon  His  ministry, 
He  "began  to  be  about  30  years  of  age."  As  the  era  is 
reckoned  from  the  Saviour's  birth,  this  would  fix  the  historic 
date  as  30  a.d.  Is  it  not  startling  to  find  the  two  dates 
approach  so  near  each  other  1  There  are  only  four  years  of 
difference,  and  yet  the  date  was  fixed  by  Scripture  at  the 
very  least  two  centuries  before  Christ  appeared !  So 
astonishing  a  fact  might  well  make  us  impatient  of  further 
scrutiny.  It  might  be  enough  to  say  that  the  prophecy, 
summing  up  the  years  in  sevens,  gave  the  interval  in  round 
numbers,  and  that,  since  the  difference  is  only  four  years, 
and,  therefore,  less  than  one  seven,  the  prophecy  is  substan- 
tially correct.  The  time  includes  69  sevens  only,  and  not  70. 
But  we  have  already  seen  that  the  predictions  of  Scripture 
require  no  apology,  and  we  have  here  another  illustration 
of  their  absolute  truth.  It  may  seem  strange  to  speak  of 
prophecy  correcting  chronology ;  but,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
such  is  the  fact.  The  prophecy  is  right :  the  chronology  is 
wrong.  The  Christian  era,  which  was  fixed  by  Dionysius 
Exiguus  in  the  6th  century,  has  long  been  known  to  have 
placed  the  birth  of  our  Lord  four  years  after  the  true  date,  so 
that  26  a.d. — the  very  year  determined  by  the  prophecy — was 
that  in  which  the  ministry  of  our  Lord  began. 

There  still  remains  the  last  seven  of  the  70,  and  on  this 
a  word  may  suffice.  Jesus  was  "cut  off"  in  the  midst  of 
the  week.  Most  authorities  agree  in  the  belief  that  our 
Lord's  ministry  lasted  between  three  and  four  years :  the 
prophecy  fixed  it  at  three  and  a  half !  Our  Lord's  work 
however  continued  in  Jerusalem  (which  alone  is  referred  to 
in  the  prediction)  after  his  death.  The  Gospel,  which  was 
preached  with  power  sent  down  from  on  high,  began  at 
Jerusalem.  The  work  in  that  city,  "where  the  Lord  was 
crucified,"  went  on  till  that  storm  of  persecution,  in  which 
Stephen  perished,  swept  the  preachers  of  the  Gospel  from 


198  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING   CHRIST. 

temple-court  and  street.  Hales,  Pearson,  and  others  place 
this  event  in  34  a.d.  Usher,  the  great  Scripture  Chronolo- 
gist,  without  any  reference  to  this  prophecy,  gives  the  date 
as  33  a.d.,  exactly  seven  years  after  26  a.d.,  the  time  when 
our  Lord's  work  began ! 

Comment  on  these  facts  is  needless.  They  tell  their 
own  tale  and  leave  their  own  impress.  I  pass  on  to  note 
how  fully 

THE    HISTORY    OF    JESUS 

was  revealed  in  the  mirror  of  prophecy.  There  are  some 
predictions,  such  as  those  regarding  the  family  from  which 
He  was  to  spring  and  the  place  where  He  was  to  be  born, 
the  accomplishment  of  which,  however  undeniable  it  might 
be  to  the  men  of  the  time,  would  now  be  hard  to  prove. 
These  I  pass  over.  But  it  was  predicted  that  His  condition 
should  be  one  of 

LOWLINESS    AND    POVERTY. 

Though  born  of  the  royal  house,  that  house  was  ere  then  to  be 
shorn  of  its  splendour.  The  tree  was  to  be  cut  down  to  the 
level  of  the  grass,  which  once  grew  under  its  shade.  "There 
shall  come  forth  a  root  out  of  the  stock  of  Jesse,  and  a  branch 
out  of  his  roots  shall  bear  fruit"  (Isaiah  xi.  1).  His  condition 
was  to  be  one  which  men  would  regard  with  great 
contempt:  the  Scripture  pointed  "to  Him  whom  man 
despiseth,  to  Him  whom  the  nation  abhorreth,  a  servant  of 
rulers"  (Isaiah  xlix.  7).  There  was  to  be  nothing  of 
superior  station  or  worldly  wealth  to  commend  Him  to 
Israel.  He  was  to  be  as  "  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground,  He 
hath  no  form  nor  comeliness,  and  when  we  see  Him, 
there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  Him"  (Isaiah 
liii.  2).  How  completely  this  was  fulfilled  we  know.  He 
was  a  carpenter's  son.  He  Himself  was  called  "the 
carpenter."  He  had  no  "  advantages."  His  knowledge 
seemed    inexplicable    to    the    men    of    His    time.       "How 


HIS   REJECTION   BY   ISRAEL.  199 

knoweth  this  man  letters,"  they  asked,  "having  never 
learned?"  He  could  offer  no  worldly  inducement  to  his 
followers.  "The  foxes  have  holes,"  He  said  to  one, 
"and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  man 
hath  not  where  to  lay  His  head."  So  low  had  the  fortunes 
of  the  ancient  royal  house  sunk  that,  in  the  times  imme- 
diately preceding,  they  had  not  furnished  a  single  claimant 
for  the  throne,  and  when  Vespasian  afterwards  made 
diligent  search  for  the  descendants  of  the  hero-king,  that 
he  might  crush  every  possible  seed  of  rebellion,  they  were 
found  to  be  so  poor  and  abject  that  they  were  dismissed 
with  contempt. 

Then  He  was  to  be 

REJECTED    BY    ISRAEL. 

The  coming  of  the  Messiah  had  been  the  hope  of  Israel 
for  well-nigh  two  thousand  years,  His  advent  was  longed 
for,  and  prayed  for  daily,  through  all  their  generations. 
Had  this  hope  been  the  off-spring  of  enthusiasm,  nourished 
by  national  vanity,  it  would  be  difficult  to  explain  how, 
along  with  this  anticipation,  there  should  be  the  most 
distinct  predictions  that  He  would  be  rejected  and  abhorred 
by  the  very  people  who  so  intensely  desired  His  appearing. 
And  yet  this  is  what  we  do  find.  The  prophet,  looking 
forward  to  the  day  of  the  Messiah,  exclaims :  "  When  we 
see  Him  there  is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  Him.  He 
was  despised  and  rejected  of  men ;  a  man  of  sorrows,  and 
acquainted  with  grief :  and  as  one  from  whom  men  hide 
their  face,  He  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  Him  not" 
(Isaiah  liii.  3).  I  have  already  quoted  the  words  which 
speak  of  Him  as  one  "whom  man  despiseth  .  .  whom 
the  nation  abhorreth"  (Isaiah  xlix.  7).  Those  who  doubt 
the  full  inspiration  of  Scripture  have  yet  to  give  some 
rational  explanation  of  this  fact  among  others,  how  such  a 
forecast  as  this  came  to  find  a  place  in  the  portraiture  of 
the   Messiah,   and   how  it   has   happened   that   it   has   also 


200  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    CHRIST. 

been  literally  fulfilled.  Not  only  was  He  rejected  by  the 
Jews  of  His  own  time :  the  rejection  has  been  perpetuated 
to  the  present  hour.  No  prediction  could  have  seemed 
more  improbable,  and  yet  none  ever  received  a  sadder  and 
more  complete  fulfilment. 
The  Messiah  was  also 

TO    SUFFER    A    VIOLENT    DEATH. 

He  was  to  be  "cut  off"  (Daniel  ix.  26).  "He  was  taken 
away.  .  .  He  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living" 
(Isa.  liii.  8).     He  was  to  die  under  a 

JUDICIAL    SENTENCE. 

"By  oppression  and  judgment  He  was  taken  away"  (Isa. 
liii.  8).     Even 

THE    MANNER    AND    THE    CIRCUMSTANCES 

of  His  death  were  foretold.  "I  am  poured  out  like  water, 
and  all  My  bones  are  out  of  joint :  My  heart  is  like  wax ; 
it  is  melted  in  the  midst  of  My  bowels.  My  strength  is 
dried  up  like  a  potsherd;  and  My  tongue  cleaveth  to  My 
jaws ;  and  Thou  hast  brought  Me  into  the  dust  of  death. 
For  dogs  have  compassed  Me :  the  assembly  of  evil-doers 
have  enclosed  Me;  they  pierced  My  hands  and  My  feet" 
(Ps.  xxii.  14,  16).  "I  gave  My  back  to  the  smiters  and  My 
cheeks  to  them  who  plucked  off  the  hair :  I  hid  not  My 
face  from  shame  and  spitting"  (Isaiah  1.  6).  "All  they 
that  see  Me,  laugh  Me  to  scorn.  They  shoot  out  the  lip, 
they  shake  the  head  saying :  He  trusted  on  the  Lord  that 
He  would  deliver  Him :  let  Him  deliver  Him  seeing  He 
delighteth  in  Him.  .  .  They  part  My  garments  among 
them,  and  upon  My  vesture  do  they  cast  lots"  (Ps.  xxii.  7, 
8,  18).  We  do  not  read  these  words  for  the  first  time. 
We  may  have  often  thought  of  them  as  a  marvellous 
description  of  the  sufferings  of  Jesus;  but  have  we  ever 
pondered  the  fact  that   they  are  prophecy,   and  that  they 


HIS    CHARACTER    DEPICTED.  201 

were  written  centuries  before  that  life  was  lived  1      What 

does  it  mean?  Is  it  not  God's  summons  to  believe  and 
accept  His  salvation1? 

The  predictions  also  supply  a  full  description  of 

THE    CHARACTER    OF    JESUS. 

They  speak  of  His  ardent  devotion,  His  complete  surrender 
to  God.  "  I  delight  to  do  Thy  will,  O  My  God :  yea,  Thy 
law  is  within  My  heart"  (Ps.  xl.  8).  They  explain  the 
fulness  of  wisdom  and  spiritual  might  which  marked  Him : 
"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  Him,  the  spirit  of 
wisdom  and  understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and  might, 
the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord" 
(Isaiah  xi.  2).  They  speak  of  the  patience  of  Jesus. 
There  was  to  be  no  rude  haste  to  snatch  an  early  victory. 
He  was  to  be  no  leader  in  tumultuous  assault  even  upon 
wrong.  "He  shall  not  cry,  nor  lift  up,  nor  cause  His 
voice  to  be  heard  in  the  street "  (Isaiah  xlii.  2).  They  tell 
of  the  lowliness  of  Jesus.  The  greatness  of  Christ  was 
not  to  remove  Him  from  us  and  shut  Him  up  in  a  world  of 
His  own.  There  was  to  be  might  without  its  pride,  wisdom 
without  its  haughty  disdain,  holiness  without  its  blighting 
scorn  of  weakness  and  sin.  "A  bruised  reed  shall  He  not 
break,  and  the  smoking  flax  shall  He  not  quench"  (Isaiah 
xlii.  3).  "He  shall  feed  His  flock  like  a  shepherd,  He 
shall  gather  the  lambs  in  His  arm,  and  carry  them  in  His 
bosom,  and  shall  gently  lead  those  that  give  suck"  (Isaiah 
xl.  11).  Can  we  see  the  Redeemer  more  clearly  in  the 
Gospels  themselves  than  He  is  revealed  here  ?  And  if  not, 
is  not  this  fact  alone  enough  to  prove  that  He  is  God's 
gift  to  us?  That  life  no  man  could  have  looked  for,  far 
less  painted.  It  was  an  absolutely  new  experience  for 
humanity.  Its  appearance  caused  a  new  departure  in 
thought  and  morals.  It  revolutionised  human  ideas  of 
greatness  and  excellence.  And  yet  that  life  and  spirit  are 
not  only  indicated — they  are  gloriously  displayed  in  what 


202  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    CHRIST. 

are  held  forth  as  announcements  of  One  who  is  yet  to  come, 
and  to  bring  back  the  earth  to  God.  We  are  told,  centuries 
before  He  appears,  that  this  is  to  be  His  character.  It  was 
much  to  have  heard  of  old  the  voice  from  heaven,  and  to 
have  felt  one's  spirit  thrill  in  answer  to  the  cry  "this  is  my 
beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."  But  this  is  a  fuller 
and  surer  testimony.  One  might  have  been  mistaken  as  to 
whence,  or  from  whom,  the  cry  came.  The  thought  might 
have  fallen  like  a  blight  that  the  whole  experience  was  a 
dream.  But  this  is  no  dream,  and  here  there  is  no  possi- 
bility of  mistake.  When  no  other  could,  God  showed  us 
His  Son,  so  to  speak,  that  we  might  know  Him  when  He 
came.  And  now  that  He  has  appeared,  who  can  forbear 
exclaiming  "this  is  indeed  the  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world!" 

The  reader  need  hardly  be  reminded  how  fully 

THE    WORK    OF    JESUS 

is  described  in  prophecy.  He  was  to  give  light;  He 
Himself  was  to  be  light.  "The  people  that  walked  in 
darkness  have  seen  a  great  light :  they  that  dwelt  in  the 
land  of  the  shadow  of  death,  upon  them  hath  the  light 
shined"  (Isa.  ix.  2).  He  was  to  be  given  "for  a  covenant 
of  the  people,  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  to  open  the  blind 
eyes,  to  bring  out  the  prisoners  from  the  dungeon,  and 
them  that  sit  in  darkness  out  of  the  prison  house"  (Isa. 
xlii.  6,  7).  "I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles 
that  thou  mayest  be  my  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the  earth  " 
(Isa.  xlix.  6).  He  was  to  touch  the  whole  earth  and  bless 
it  with  peace  and  power.  "  Like  as  many  were  astonied  at 
thee.  ,  .  so  shall  he  sprinkle  many  nations"  (Isaiah 
Hi.  14,  15).  "He  shall  not  fail,  nor  be  discouraged,  till  He 
have  set  judment  in  the  earth,  and  the  isles  shall  wait  for 
His  law"  (Isa.  xlii.  4). 

But  this  fulness  of  power  and  blessing  was  to  be  reached 
through  suffering.     We  have  seen  that  the  Messiah  was  to 


HIS   WORK    DESCRIBED.  203 

die.  That  death  had  an  explanation.  It  was  written  "thou 
shalt  make  His  soul  an  offering  for  sin"  (Isaiah  liii.  10); 
and  again,  "Although  He  had  done  no  violence,  neither 
was  any  deceit  in  His  mouth,  yet  it  pleased  the  Lord 
to  bruise  Him,  He  hath  put  Him  to  grief"  (vv.  9,  10). 
What  all  this  meant  for  us  the  prophet  has  explained 
in  the  verses  immediately  preceding.  "Surely  He  hath 
borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our  sorrows.  .  .  .  He 
was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  He  was  bruised  for 
our  iniquities :  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon 
Him,  and  with  His  stripes  we  are  healed.  All  we,  like 
sheep,  have  gone  astray,  we  have  turned  every  one  to  his 
own  way,  and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity 
of  us  all"  (vv.  4,  6).  The  work  of  Christ  is  described 
in  similar  terms  in  Dan.  ix.  24.  It  was  "to  make  recon- 
ciliation for  iniquity,  and  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteous- 
ness." There  is  also  a  striking  prediction  to  the  same 
effect  in  Zechariah  ix.  11.  God  is  speaking  concerning 
His  Messiah  who  "shall  speak  peace  unto  the  nations," 
and  whose  "dominion  shall  be  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from 
the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  and  He  continues : 
"As  for  Thee  also,  because  of  the  blood  of  Thy 
covenant  I  have  sent  forth  Thy  prisoners  out  of  the  pit 
wherein  is  no  water."  They  are  shut  in  with  death;  but 
they  are  His,  and  they  are  released  on  one  ground  alone — 
"the  blood  of  Thy  covenant."  Great  difficulties  have  been 
felt  by  many  in  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  substitution. 
It  has  been  arraigned  as  the  fruit  of  superstition,  or  of 
terrible  misconception.  The  whole  body  of  ordinary 
teaching  on  the  subject  has  been  named  "the  blood 
theology,"  and  been  cast  on  one  side  as  if  that  description 
were  sufficient  condemnation.  It  will  be  admitted  that 
there  may  be  aspects,  from  which  the  question  might  be  so 
viewed  as  greatly  to  alter  our  judgment  of  it.  Far  as  our 
philosophy  has  reached,  it  is  still  true  that  there  are 
things  in  heaven  and  earth  not  dreamed  of  in  it.     But  we 


204  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING   JESUS. 

have  to  deal  here  with  God's  thought,  not  man's.  The 
words  are  stamped  as  His,  for  they  display  clear  and  full 
knowledge  of  what  no  man,  when  the  words  were  spoken, 
could  foresee  even  dimly.  They  are,  therefore,  God's  state- 
ment of  what  the  death  of  Christ  means,  and  not  man's 
explanation  of  it.  The  prediction  is  an  attestation,  not  to 
the  Lord's  mission  only,  but  also  to  the  doctrine  of 
"forgiveness  through  His  blood."  It  is  the  seal  of  God's 
covenant  with  us  in  Christ.  It  is  the  Divine  assurance 
that  the  wondrous  tale  of  the  cross  is  true.  "All  we  like 
sheep  have  gone  astray.  We  have  turned  every  one  to  his 
own  way,  and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of 
us  all." 

I   may   notice   in    conclusion,    a    prophetic   testimony    of 
equally  vital  import,  namely,  that 

JESUS    LIVES    AND    SAVES. 

We  find  in  the  predictions  a  strange  conjunction  of  death 
and  after-service — service  which,  notwithstanding  death 
is  to  be  rendered  in  the  midst  of  men,  and  by  Him  who 
died  for  them.  In  the  xxii.  Psalm,  He,  whose  hands 
and  feet  were  "pierced,"  whose  garments  were  divided, 
and  upon  whose  raiment  they  cast  lots,  looks  forward  to 
work  which  He  will  nevertheless  do  for  God  on  the  earth. 
"I  will  declare  Thy  name  unto  my  brethren,  in  the  midst 
of  the  congregation  will  I  praise  Thee"  (Ps.  xxii.  22).  In 
that  prophetic  hymn  of  the  humiliation  and  death  of  Christ, 
which  we  have  already  referred  to — the  53rd  of  Isaiah — 
this  strange  testimony  is  still  clearer.  After  saying 
how  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  Him  and  put  Him  to 
grief,  the  prophet  proceeds:  "When  thou  shalt  make  His 
soul  an  offering  for  sin,  He  shall  see  His  seed,  He  shall 
prolong  his  days,  and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper 
in  His  hand.  He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and 
shall  be  satisfied.  By  His  knowledge  shall  My  righteous 
servant    justify   many,  for    He    shall   bear   their   iniquities. 


HIS    PRESENT    SERVICE.  205 

Therefore  will  I  divide  Him  a  portion  with  the  great,  and 
He  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong,  because  He 
poured  out  His  soul  unto  death,  and  was  numbered  with 
the  transgressors.  Yet  He  bore  the  sin  of  many  and  made 
intercession  for  the  transgressors"  (Isa.  liii.  10-12). 

Other  predictions  are  equally  emphatic  as  to  the  un- 
ceasing activity  and  undying  influence  of  the  Redeemer. 
But  here  the  fulness  of  His  triumph  over  death  and  the 
oblivion,  which  at  the  close  of  life's  brief  day,  falls  in 
deepening  darkness  upon  human  work  and  fame,  are  put 
so  clearly  that  we  need  no  testimony  besides.  Death  does 
not  shut  out  from  His  view  the  scene  of  His  earthly 
labours.  "He  shall  see  His  seed,"  "He  shall  see  of  the 
travail  of  His  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied."  Death  does 
not  even  end  His  earthly  activity.  "The  pleasure  of  the 
Lord  shall  prosper  in  His  hand."  He  shall  "justify 
many."  "He  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong." 
Next  in  point  of  difficulty  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Atone- 
ment stands  this,  that  Jesus  is  a  'present  Saviour — that  to- 
day, as  of  old,  He  hears  the  cry  of  need,  and  will  accept, 
and  bless,  and  save.  But  here  again  difficulty  is  met  by 
the  Divine  assurance.  These  words  are  God's,  for  no 
other  could  have  told  of  Christ's  advent,  or  pictured  His 
character,  or  told  the  story  of  His  suffering  and  work.  If 
any  other  could,  then  put  the  words  aside;  pay  no  heed 
to  this  wondrous  testimony  about  a  living,  present  Christ, 
for  the  words  may  in  that  case  be  merely  man's  But, 
if  they  bear  the  stamp  of  a  knowledge  that  is  infinite,  we 
know  that  they  came  from  One  who  will  not  deceive, 
and  who  cannot  err.  To  men  of  old  the  predictions  spoke 
of  one  who  said  "I  come."  To  us  now  they  tell  of  one 
whose  word  is :  "  Behold  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock. 
If  any  man  hear  My  voice  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come 
in  to  him  and  will  sup  with  him  and  he  with  Me." 


CHAPTER  X. 


PREDICTIONS     FULFILLED     IN     THE     HISTORY     OF 
THE     JEWS. 


**FjgjaE  SHALL  NOW  close  our  readings,  in  the  ful- 
|W  W*  filled  prophecies  of  Scripture,  with  a  rapid  survey 
^Mgdl  of  those  which  bear  upon  the  fortunes  of  the 
Jews.  We  have  seen  something  of  the  testimony  which  God 
has  borne  to  His  word,  to  Christ,  and  to  some  of  the 
leading  doctrines  of  that  faith,  which  we  are  told  forms 
the  pathway  to  eternal  life.  It  may  be  well,  then,  that  we 
should  be  reminded  that  where  God  sheds  light  He  expects 
obedience,  and  that  the  possession  of  privileges  has  its  duties 
and  its  penalties. 

In  another  respect  it  may  be  well  that  this  should  form 
the  terminus  of  our  inquiries.  We  have  hitherto  been 
dealing  with  regions  and  events  far  off  from  us,  and  the 
force,  which  closer  acquaintance  and  fuller  knowledge 
would  have  given  to  conviction,  has  been  wanting.  But 
the  Jews,  scattered  everywhere  and  dwelling  in  our  own 
midst,  bring  the  claims  home  to  us  both  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  of  the  New.  The  Bible  lives  in  the  Jew.  His 
whole  history  is  a  testimony  to  its  historic  truth  :  in  his 
present  customs,  in  his  very  separateness,  we  see  the 
impress  of  events,  the  reality  of  which  many  have  doubted, 
and  some  have  denied;  and  he  teaches  us  that  God's 
hand  rests  on  the  life  of  to-day  as  truly  as  it  rested  on  the 
life  of  the  past. 


THE   JEWS'    REJECTION    OF    CHRIST    FORETOLD.  207 

Perhaps  the  most  startling  fact  in  connection  with  the 
Jewish  race  is  its  attitude  towards  Christianity.  We  know 
that  the  Gospel  was  preached  to  the  Jew  before  it  was 
declared  to  the  Gentile,  and  that  many  received  the  mes- 
sage. The  foundations  of  the  new  faith  were  laid  among 
the  followers  of  the  old.  All  the  apostles,  without  a  single 
exception,  were  Jews.  The  first  preachers  of  the  Gospel, 
who  went  everywhere  preaching  the  word,  were  also  of 
the  same  race;  and  multitudes  of  their  countrymen,  both 
at  home  and  abroad,  rejoiced  in  the  assurance  of  forgive- 
ness through  the  blood  of  Christ.  But,  when  all  this  has 
been  admitted,  the  fact  remains  that,  by  nearly  the  whole 
race  then,  and  by  the  entire  race  ever  since,  the  Messiah 
has  been  rejected  and  scorned.  This  unanimous  and  per- 
sistent repudiation  of  the  claims  of  Jesus  by  His  own 
people  is  not  devoid  of  difficulty,  and  the  difficulty  is 
increased  when  we  remember  that  for  long  ages  this 
nation  had  been  trained  to  know  God's  mind,  and  had 
been  prepared  by  prophecy  and  by  the  institutions  of  the 
law  to  receive  Christ  when  He  came. 

If  we  were  asked  to  explain  the  rejection  of  Jesus  by 
His  own  people,  we  might  not  be  able  to  wholly  remove 
the  impression  that  it  throws  doubt  upon  the  claims  of  the 
Gospel.  But  the  prophecies,  which  the  Jews  cherish  as 
well  as  we,  turn  this,  which  might  be  used  as  an  argument 
against  Christianity,  into  one  of  the  strongest  testimonies 
to  its  truth. 

THE  REJECTION  WAS  FORETOLD. 

We  are  familiar,  for  example,  with  the  words  of  Isaiah. 
The  prophet  exclaims,  as  he  looks  onward  to  the  Gospel 
day  and  searches  for  the  fruits  among  his  people  of  the 
labours  of  those  who,  with  himself,  have  been  proclaiming 
Jesus:  "Who  hath  believed  our  report,  and  to  whom  hath 
the  arm  of  the  Lord  been  revealed1?"  (liii.  1).  He  breaks 
out   into   lamentation   over    Israel's    rejection    of    Him    of 


208  PREDICTIONS   REGARDING    THE    JEWS. 

whom  he  has  just  predicted  that  He  shall  "sprinkle  many- 
nations"  (lii.  15),  and  exclaims:  "When  we  see  Him  there 
is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  Him.  He  was  despised 
and  rejected  of  men ;  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted 
with  grief :  and  as  one  from  whom  men  hide  their  face  He 
was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  Him  not"  (liii.  2,  3).  The 
Jews  regarded  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  as  disproving  all 
His  claims,  and  yet,  seven  centuries  before  His  blood 
stained  the  sod  of  Calvary,  it  was  declared  they  should  so 
regard  it :  "  Surely  He  hath  borne  our  griefs  and  carried 
our  sorrows,  yet  we  did  esteem  Him  stricken,  smitten  of 
God,  and  afflicted"  (liii.  4). 

Similar  announcements  meet  us  elsewhere.  That  which 
is  yet  to  be  "the  headstone  of  the  corner"  is  "the  stone 
which  the  builders  refused"  (Ps.  cxviii.  22).  Blindness 
was  to  fall  upon  Israel :  "  Tarry  ye  and  wonder ;  take  your 
pleasure  and  be  blind :  they  are  drunken,  but  not  with 
wine;  they  stagger,  but  not  with  strong  drink.  For  the 
Lord  hath  poured  out  upon  you  the  spirit  of  deep 
sleep,  and  hath  closed  your  eyes :  the  prophets  and  your 
heads,  the  seers  hath  He  covered.  And  all  vision  is  become 
to  you  as  the  words  of  a  book  that  is  sealed,  which  men 
deliver  to  one  that  is  learned,  saying,  Read  this,  I  pray 
thee ;  and  he  saith,  I  cannot,  for  it  is  sealed :  and  the  book 
is  delivered  to  him  that  is  not  learned,  saying,  Read  this, 
I  pray  thee :  and  he  saith,  I  am  not  learned "  (Isa.  xxix. 
9-12).  Therefore  the  Redeemer  exclaims  :  "  I  have 
laboured  in  vain,  I  have  spent  My  strength  for  nought  and 
vanity;"  and  while  He  is  described  as  "a  light  to  the 
Gentiles,"  He  is  in  the  same  breath  spoken  of  as  "  one 
whom  man  despiseth — whom  the  nation  abhorreth" 
(Isa.  xlix.  4,  6,  7).  This  is,  in  fact,  one  of  the  great  out- 
standing features  in  the  prophetic  portraiture  of  the  Messiah. 
If,  therefore,  Israel  had  accepted,  and  not  rejected,  Jesus, 
that  would  have  been  one  of  the  strongest  possible  argu- 
ments against  Christianity.     It  would  have  proved  that  He 


THEIR    REJECTION   OF   CHRIST.  209 

was  not  the  Messiah  whose  advent  had  been  foretold. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  these  predictions  and  their  accom- 
plishment we  have  another  seal  to  the  Gospel.  The 
rejection  is  one  more  test,  placed  in  our  hands  by  God 
Himself,  whereby  we  might  know  whether  He  whose  name 
should  be  declared  to  us  was  indeed  the  Saviour  of  the 
world;  and  Israel's  abhorrence  of  the  Nazarene  is  their 
unconscious  testimony  that  this  indeed  is  He. 

Another  difficulty  in  Israel's  rejection  of  the  Messiah  is 
its  long  continuance.  One  generation  may  err,  but  succeed- 
ing generations  review  the  decisions  of  the  past  and  judge 
righteous  judgment.  There  was  much  in  the  case  of  the 
Jews  to  suggest  and  to  guide  such  a  review.  The  terrible 
discipline,  through  which  they  have  passed,  might  have 
humbled  and  enlightened  them.  It  might  have  been  thought 
also  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  dwell  for  18  centuries 
in  the  midst  of  Christian  nations,  with  the  name  of  Jesus 
for  ever  in  their  ears,  with  the  gospels  spread  before  them, 
and  the  testimony  of  their  own  prophets  continually  under 
their  eyes,  without  acknowledging  the  mistake  or  rebellion 
of  their  fathers.  And  yet,  in  spite  of  all,  their  rejection  of 
Jesus  has  been  perpetuated,  and  is  as  resolute  to-day  as  it 
ever  has  been.  This,  we  repeat,  is  a  farther  difficulty,  and 
one  which,  taken  by  itself,  might  form  a  stumbling-block 
in  the  pathway  of  belief.  It  might  be  hard,  perhaps  im- 
possible, for  us  to  explain  how  the  testimony  of  those 
prophecies,  which  the  Jews  revere  as  the  Word  of  God,  has 
failed  to  convince  them  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah.  But 
here  again  the  objection  is  really  one  of  the  strongest 
confirmations.     This,  too,  was  predicted. 

THE    LONG-CONTINUED    REJECTION 

of  Christianity  by  the  Jews  is  distinctly  prophesied  in  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  New.  Isaiah  at  the  outset  of  his 
ministry  has  a  vision  of  the  Lord,  who  has  come  to  His 
Temple,  and  whose  glory  fills  it.     But,  while  he  is  sent  to 

o 


210  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    THE    JEWS. 

Israel  with  God's  word,  he  is  told  that  the  vision  which  he 
has  seen  will  not  be  given  to  them.  "And  he  said,  go 
and  tell  this  people :  Hear  ye  indeed,  but  understand  not, 
and  see  ye  indeed,  but  perceive  not.  Make  the  heart  of 
this  people  fat,  and  make  their  ears  heavy,  and  shut  their 
eyes;  lest  they  see  with  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their 
ears,  and  understand  with  their  heart,  and  turn  again  and 
be  healed."  The  prophet  asks  how  long  the  doom  of 
blindness  is  to  rest  upon  Israel,  and  receives  the  reply : 
"Until  cities  be  waste  without  inhabitant,  and  houses 
without  man,  and  the  land  become  utterly  waste,  and  the 
Lord  have  removed  men  far  away,  and  the  forsaken  places 
be  many  in  the  midst  of  the  land"  (Isaiah  vi.  9-12). 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  the  blindness  of  the  Jews  was 
to  be  long  continued,  was  to  be  continued,  indeed,  during 
the  long  ages  in  which  the  land  of  Israel  was  to  be  de- 
populated, and  to  be  so  wasted  that  its  very  fruitfulness 
was  to  pass  away.  The  prediction  in  the  New  Testament 
is  still  more  definite.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Komans  the 
apostle  Paul  speaks  of  his  "heart's  desire  and  supplica- 
tion to  God"  that  Israel  may  be  saved.  But  he  holds  out 
no  hope  to  his  readers  of  an  immediate  answer  to  his 
prayer.  Israel  will  not  return  till  the  time  of  God's  forbear- 
ance with  the  Gentiles  has  expired.  "For  I  would  not, 
brethren,  have  you  ignorant  of  this  mystery,  lest  ye  be 
wise  in  your  own  conceits,  that  a  hardening  in  part  hath 
befallen  Israel,  until  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles 
be  come  in"  (Romans  xi.  25),  that  is,  till  the  time  come 
when  God  shall  judge  them  as  He  has  judged  His  ancient 
people.  Others  understand  the  words  as  referring  to 
mercy,  not  to  judgment,  and  believe  that  they  indicate  the 
ingathering  of  all  the  Gentile  nations  into  the  kingdom  of 
God.  In  either  case  it  is  clear  that  the  rejection  of  Jesus 
by  Israel  was  to  continue  to  the  present  time,  and  beyond  iU 
This  difficulty,  therefore,  like  the  other,  is  another  testi- 
mony to  the  truth  of  God's  word  and  to  the  Gospel  which 


THEIR   REJECTION    OF    CHRIST.  211 

He  has  declared.     The  Jew  confirms  by  his  very  rejection 
the  claims  which  he  scorns. 

This,  however,  is  only  the  beginning  of  the  story.  The 
sin  was  to  be  visited  with  judgment.  Daniel  in  connection 
with  his  prediction  regarding  the  Messiah,  which  we  have 
already  considered,  announces  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  temple :  "  The  people  of  the  prince  that  shall 
come  shall  destroy  the  city  and  the  sanctuary"  (Dan.  ix. 
26).  Zechariah,  writing  after  the  return  from  Babylon, 
speaks  of  another  terrible  calamity  for  his  people.  The 
land  is  to  be  spoiled,  Israel  is  to  be  given  over  to  slaughter, 
and  to  be  sold  into  slavery,  "For  I  will  no  more  pity  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land,  saith  the  Lord"  (Zech.  xi.  1-6). 
Malachi,  the  last  of  the  prophets,  also  hints  at  a  rejection 
of  Israel  contemporaneous  with  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles. 
"  I  have  no  pleasure  in  you,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  neither 
will  I  accept  an  offering  at  your  hand.  For  from  the 
rising  of  the  sun  even  unto  the  going  down  of  the  same, 
My  name  is  great  among  the  Gentiles"  (Malachi  i.  10,  11). 

We  shall  mainly  confine  ourselves,  however,  to  the  more 
ancient  prophecies  in  Leviticus  and  Deuteronomy,  to 
which  we  have  referred  in  an  earlier  chapter.  There,  on 
the  foundation  of  their  institutions  as  a  nation,  it  was 
written,  not  only  that  God  would  punish  persistent  re- 
bellion, but  also  how  He  would  punish  it.  The  picture  of 
the  Divine  judgment  is  full  of  minute  details :  it  is  painted 
in  vivid  colours.  There  may  be  some  doubt,  it  is  true,  as 
to  the  application  of  these  predictions  to  the  rejection  of 
the  Messiah.  But  this  doubt,  if  it  exists,  will  be  dissipated 
by  a  moment's  reflection.  No  other  sin  that  Israel  ever 
committed  could  equal  their  rejection  of  Him,  to  serve  and 
aid  whom  in  His  mission  to  the  nations  they  existed  as  a 
people.  For  them  to  reject  God's  covenant  for  them- 
selves, to  attempt  to  bring  to  nought  God's  plan  for  the 
world's  redemption,  and  to  fight,  as  they  did  for  ages, 
against  God's  effort  to  bring  the   nations   to   Himself,  was 


212  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    THE    JEWS. 

the  most  daring  rebellion  in  which  Israel  had  ever 
engaged.  If  Christianity  is  of  God,  and  these  are  God's 
words,  they  must  find  their  full  accomplishment  in  the 
history  of  Israel  at  and  since  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era.  If  they  had  not  been  so  fulfilled,  there  could  have 
been  no  more  certain  proof  either  that  the  words  were  not 
of  God,  or  that  Christianity  was  not  from  Him,  and  that  in 
rejecting  and  attempting  to  defeat  it,  the  Jews  were  not 
rejecting  and  seeking  the  overthrow  of  anything  which 
could  be  called  the  counsel  of  God. 

Turning  now  to  the  prediction  in  Deuteronomy,  we  note 
that  those  who  were  to  be 

THE  INSTRUMENTS  IN  PUNISHING   ISRAEL 

are  described.  If  the  words  had  been  meant  merely  as  a 
threat,  and  not  as  an  unvailing  of  the  future,  the  materials 
for  impressive  writing  lay  at  hand.  What  could  have 
impressed  Israel  more  than  to  hold  over  them  the  menace 
of  a  return  to  the  fiery  furnace  of  Egyptian  bondage1? 
Or  some  of  the  neighbouring  and  dreaded  nations  of  the 
time  might  have  been  named  as  their  conquerors  and 
oppressors.  But  to  none  of  these  did  the  warning  point. 
The  chastisement  was  not  to  be  the  consequence  of 
ordinary  aggression.  It  was  to  bear  upon  it  from  first  to 
last  the  stamp  of  Divine  judgment.  "The  Lord  shall 
bring  a  nation  against  thee  from  far,  from  the  end  of  the 
earth,  as  the  eagle  flieth ;  a  nation  whose  tongue  thou 
shalt  not  understand :  a  nation  of  fierce  countenance " 
(Deuteronomy  xxviii.  49,  50).  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
remind  the  reader  how  wonderfully  these  words  were 
fulfilled  in  the  case  of  the  Romans.  They  came  from  far, 
from  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Theirs  was  a  speech  the 
Jews  did  not  understand.  They  were  men  of  fierce  aspect. 
Let  me,  however,  again  remind  him  that  this  prediction 
could  scarcely  have  resulted  from  a  calculation  of  proba- 
bilities.    We  may  be  occasionally  disturbed   by  a  dread  of 


THE    INSTRUMENTS    OF    THEIR    PUNISHMENT.  213 

national  chastisement,  but,  if  we  were  to  don  the  prophet's 
mantle  and  speak  of  coming  invasion,  should  we  not 
inevitably  think  of  nations  known  to  us  as  the  probable 
instruments  of  vengeance?  If  the  writer  of  Deuteronomy 
had  been  moved  by  the  thoughts  of  his  own  heart,  this 
course  would  have  been  as  natural  to  him  as  it  is  to  us. 
But  he  turned  away  from  every  people  then  known  to 
Israel,  and  said  "Your  punishment  will  come  from  none 
of  these.  A  people  from  far,  from  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
a  people  whose  speech  you  will  not  understand — they  will 
be  the  sword  in  the  hand  of  God."  What  shall  we  say  of  it? 
If  the  words  are  not  God's,  then  their  presence  on  the  page 
of  Scripture  must  be  due  to  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
freaks  of  chance  of  which  we  have  any  record. 

Whether  they  are  due  to  chance  or  not,  will  be  made 
abundantly  clear  ere  we  have  finished.  The  words  proceed 
to  speak  of 

THE     MERCILESSNESS    OF     THESE     MINISTERS 
OF     VENGEANCE. 

They  were  to  be  "a  nation  of  fierce  countenance,  which 
shall  not  regard  the  person  of  the  old,  nor  shew  favour  to 
the  young  "  (Deut.  xxviii.  50).  We  have  often  heard  of  the 
stern  necessities  of  war,  but  these  necessities  were  never 
more  ruthlessly  enforced  than  by  the  Romans.  In  their 
stern  discipline  there  was  no  room  for  pity.  There  was  no 
soft  spot  in  that  iron  heart,  to  which  either  age  or  infancy 
could  make  its  appeal.  Those  who  could  be  sold  as  slaves, 
who  could  fight  in  the  cruel  sports  of  their  amphitheatres, 
or  adorn  the  triumph  of  their  general,  might  be  spared,  but 
they  never  troubled  themselves  with  useless  incumbrances. 
Josephus  tells  how  at  Tiberias,  even  where  the  people  had 
been  promised  their  lives,  the  old  men  and  those  who 
"  were  useless "  were  put  to  the  sword.  The  same  course 
was  followed  at  Jerusalem  and  elsewhere.  They  regarded 
not  the  person  of  the  old,  nor  did  they  shew  favour  to  the 
young. 


214  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    THE    JEWS. 

Another  feature  in  the  punishment  of  Israel  was,  that, 
though  Egypt  was  not  to  be  the  means  of  their  overthrow, 
it  was  nevertheless  to  be  concerned  in  their  degradation. 
They  were  to  be 

TAKEN  BACK  TO  EGYPT  IN  SHIPS. 

"And  the  Lord  shall  bring  thee  into  Egypt  again  with 
ships  "  (ver.  68).  Of  those  saved  at  Jerusalem,  all  who  were 
over  17  years  of  age  were  sent  to  labour  in  the  Egyptian 
mines,  where  the  prisoners  were  kept  at  work  day  and  night 
without  intermission,  or  the  slightest  interval  for  sleep, 
till  they  fell  down  and  died.  "The  vast  numbers,"  says 
Diodorus,  "employed  in  these  mines  are  bound  in  fetters 
and  compelled  to  work  day  and  night  without  intermission 
and  without  the  least  hope  of  escape.  No  attention  is  paid 
to  their  persons ;  they  have  not  even  a  piece  of  rag  to  cover 
themselves;  and  so  wretched  is  their  condition  that  every 
one  who  witnesses  it  deplores  the  excesssive  misery  they 
endure.  No  rest,  no  intermission  from  toil,  are  given  either 
to  the  sick  or  maimed;  neither  the  weakness  of  age  nor 
woman's  infirmities  are  regarded;  all  are  driven  to  their 
work  with  the  lash,  till,  at  last,  overcome  with  the  intolerable 
weight  of  their  afflictions,  they  die  in  the  midst  of  their 
toil."  *  It  was  a  more  terrible  bondage  than  that  from 
which  God  had  freed  their  fathers.  Besides  these,  vast 
multitudes  were  sold  into  slavery.  The  markets  were 
glutted,  and  the  words  were  accomplished :  "No  man 
shall  buy  you"  (ver.  68).  97,000,  according  to  Josephus, 
were  carried  away  captive  from  Jerusalem  alone.  This 
number  was  increased  by  a  large  part  of  the  population  of 
Judea  and  Galilee.  Wherever  resistance  had  been  offered 
to  the  Roman  arms,  captivity  was  the  mildest  fate  granted 
to  the  vanquished.  On  the  suppression  of  the  rising  under 
Barcochebas  in  the  next  century  all  the  horrors  of  the 
previous  war  were  repeated.  "They  were  reduced  to 
*  Wilkinson;  "Ancient  Egyptians,"  II.,  143,  144. 


THEIR    SUFFERINGS.  215 

slavery,"  says  Milman,  "by  thousands.  There  was  a  great 
fair  held  under  a  celebrated  Terebinth,  which  tradition  had 
consecrated  as  the  very  tree  under  which  Abraham  had 
pitched  his  tent.  Thither  his  miserable  children  were 
brought  in  droves,  and  sold  as  cheap  as  horses.  Others 
were  carried  away  and  sold  at  Gaza ;  others  were  transported 
to  Egypt."  * 

This  forms  only  a  small  part,  however,  of  the  prophetic 
description  of  those  sufferings  and  calamities,  which  were 
to  make  that  terrible  time  to  be  for  ever  remembered  as  a 
time  of  judgment.     One  characteristic  of  the  war  was  to  be 

ITS    SIEGES. 

"  He  shall  besiege  thee  in  all  thy  gates,  until  thy  high  and 
fenced  walls  come  down,  wherein  thou  trustedst,  throughout 
all  thy  land:  and  he  shall  besiege  thee  in  all  thy  gates, 
throughout  all  thy  land,  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth 
thee."  This  was  by  no  means  an  ordinary  incident  in 
Jewish  warfare.  The  wars  conducted  by  the  Maccabees 
were  wars  of  battles.  They  met  their  enemies  in  the 
field.  The  Jews  pursued  Cestius  when  he  retreated  from 
Jerusalem,  and  they  made  a  disastrous  attack  on  Ascalon, 
but  with  these  exceptions  the  war  was,  as  here  described, 
a  war  of  sieges.  In  previous  struggles  there  had  been 
battles,  the  names  of  which  awoke  memories  of  joy  or  sorrow 
in  the  breasts  of  the  children  of  Israel,  but  now  their  story 
is  the  story  of  towns  besieged  and  stormed.  The  names 
Jotapata,  Japha,  Tarichea,  Gamala,  Itabyrium,  Gischala, 
Jerusalem,  Herodion,  Machaerus,  Massada,  which  appear 
in  the  history  of  the  campaigns,  are  the  names,  not  of 
stricken  fields,  but  of  captured  cities  and  fortresses.  I 
repeat  that  this  was  not  a  necessary  feature  of  the  war.  The 
armies  of  Israel  might  have  been  defeated  on  their  plains  or 
on  their  mountains,  and  the  cities  might,  as  a  consequence 
of  the  defeat,  have  surrendered.  But  the  contest  is  pictured 
*  "History  of  the  Jews,"  II. ,  436. 


216  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    THE   JEWS. 

as  one  of  infatuation  or  despair.  It  is  war  to  the  death. 
The  battle  raged  wherever  there  was  a  chance  of  resistance, 
and  the  Romans  had  to  fight  their  way  through  the  land 
step  by  step,  reducing  one  stronghold  after  another.  Even 
after  Jerusalem  had  fallen,  as  fierce  a  stand  was  made  at 
Machaerus  and  Massada,  "He  shall  besiege  thee  in  all 
thy  gates  throughout  all  thy  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
giveth  thee." 

We  may  notice  also  what  is  said  of 

THE    METHOD    OF    ATTACK. 

"He  shall  besiege  thee  in  all  thy  gates,  until  thy  high  and 
fenced  ivcdls  come  down,  wherein  thou  trustedst."  Josephus 
describes  the  terrors  of  the  Roman  battering-ram.  When 
it  is  "pulled  backward,"  he  says,  "by  a  great  number  of 
men  with  united  force,  and  then  thrust  forward  by  the  same 
men  with  a  mighty  noise,  it  batters  the  walls  with  that  iron 
part  which  is  prominent;  nor  is  there  any  tower  so  strong, 
nor  walls  so  broad,  that  can  resist  any  more  than  its  first 
batteries,  but  all  are  forced  to  yield  to  it  at  last."  He 
describes  its  effects  at  Jotapata,  where  he  commanded : 
"Now  at  the  very  first  stroke  of  this  engine  the  wall  was 
shaken,  and  a  terrible  clamour  was  raised  by  the  people 
within  the  city,  as  if  they  were  already  taken."  The  result 
here,  as  everywhere  besides,  was  that  not  only  was  a  breach 
made  and  the  city  taken,  but,  in  accordance  with  the  orders 
of  Vespasian,  the  city  was  "  entirely  demolished,  and  all  the 
fortifications  burned  down."  Their  high  and  fenced  walls 
came  down  wherein  they  trusted. 

Then  the  prophecy  presents  a  vivid  picture  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  people.     They  were  to  endure 

THE     EXTREMITIES     OF     FAMINE. 

It  was  to  be  no  ordinary  tale  of  want  and  suffering,  but  one 
such  that  the  ears  of  everyone  that  heard  it  should  tingle. 
"  Thou  shalt  eat  the  fruit  of  thine  own  body,  the  flesh  of 


THEIR    SUFFERINGS.  217 

thy  sons  and  thy  daughters,  which  the  Lord  thy  God  hath 
given  thee,  in  the  siege  and  in  the  straitness  wherewith 
thine  enemies  shall  straiten  thee.  The  man  that  is  tender 
among  you  and  very  delicate,  his  eye  shall  be  evil  toward 
his  brother,  and  toward  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  and  toward 
the  remnant  of  his  children  which  he  hath  remaining:  so 
that  he  will  not  give  to  any  of  them  the  flesh  of  his  children 
whom  he  shall  eat.  .  .  The  tender  and  delicate  woman 
among  you  which  would  not  adventure  to  set  the  sole  of 
her  foot  upon  the  ground  for  delicateness  and  tenderness, 
.  .  she  shall  eat  them  (her  children)  for  want  of  all  things 
secretly"  (Deut.  xxviii.  53-57).  So  closely  was  this  terrible 
prediction  fulfilled  that  history  in  this  case  seems  but  the 
echo  of  prophecy.  "The  famine  was  too  hard,"  says 
Josephus,  "for  all  other  passions,  .  .  .  insomuch  that 
children  pulled  the  very  morsels  that  their  fathers  were 
eating  out  of  their  very  mouths,  and,  what  was  still  more  to 
be  pitied,  so  did  the  mothers  do  to  their  infants;  and, 
when  those  that  were  most  dear  were  perishing  under  their 
hands,  they  were  not  ashamed  to  take  from  them  the  very 
last  drops  that  might  preserve  their  lives."  And  he  tells, 
with  evident  reluctance  (for  he  was  still  a  Jew,  and  knew 
he  was  exposing  the  shame  of  his  country  to  the  eyes  of 
Gentile  readers),  of  a  certain  woman  named  Mary,  "  eminent 
for  her  family  and  her  wealth"  who  by  reason  of  the  want 
of  all  things  "in  the  siege  and  in  the  straitness,"  "slew 
her  son ;  and  then  roasted  him,  and  ate  the  one  half  of 
him,  and  kept  the  other  half  by  her  concealed." 
They  were  also  to  be 

"LEFT     FEW     IN     NUMBER" 

(Deut.  xxviii.  62).  Summing  up  the  numbers  given  by 
Josephus,  it  appears  that  1,356,460  were  slain  and  101,700 
carried  away  captive.  But  he  only  gives  the  number 
of  prisoners  in  Jerusalem  and  two  other  places,  and  there 
were   many  losses  which   he  omits,    "besides  the  immense 


218  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    THE    JEWS. 

waste  of  life  from  massacre,  famine,  and  disease,  inseparable 
from  such  a  war  in  almost  every  district."  *  This  terrible 
total  was  swelled  through  insurrection  and  massacre  in  other 
parts  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  was  further  increased  by 
the  atrocities  perpetrated  by  the  Romans  in  suppressing 
the  outbreak  under  Barcochebas.  Of  that  "massacre  the 
Rabbins  tell  frightful  stories,  but  their  horror  is  mitigated 
by  their  extravagance.  More  are  said  to  have  fallen  at 
Bither  than  escaped  with  Moses  from  Egypt.  The  horses 
waded  up  to  their  bits  in  carnage.  Blood  flowed  so 
copiously,  that  the  stream  carried  stones  weighing  four 
pounds  into  the  sea,  according  to  their  account,  forty  miles 
distant.  The  dead  covered  eighteen  square  miles,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  the  adjacent  regions  had  no  need  to  manure 
their  ground  for  seven  years.  A  more  trustworthy  authority, 
Dion  Cassius,  states  that  during  the  whole  war  the  enormous 
number  of  580,000  fell  by  the  sword,  not  including  those 
who  perished  by  famine,  disease,  and  fire.  The  whole  of 
Judea  was  a  desert;  wolves  and  hyaenas  went  howling  along 
the  streets  of  the  desolate  cities."  f 

But  the  predictions  are  not  bounded  by  the  judgments 
which  marked  the  end  of  the  Jewish  nation  in  Palestine. 
They  have  also  told  their  after  story.  We  noticed  in  a 
former  chapter  the  prophecy,  that  they  should  be  swept 
from  off  the  land  which  God  had  given  them :  "Ye  shall 
be  plucked  from  off  the  land  whither  thou  goest  in  to  possess 
it "  (Deut.  xxviii.  63).  It  may  be  enough  to  remark  now 
that,  from  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Hadrian  to  the  present, 
they  have  never  been  permitted  to  call  that  land  their  own. 
Men  of  every  nationality  and  faith  have  been  more  at  home 
in  the  ancient  land  of  Israel  than  the  despised  and  down- 
trodden Jew. 

We  proceed  to  follow  their  after  history  as  it  is  depicted 
in  prophecy,  and  we  mark  first  of  all 

*Milman;  "History  of  the  Jews,"  II.  381. 
iibid.  II.  435,  436. 


THEIR    DISPERSION    AND    PRESERVATION.  219 

THEIR    UNIVERSAL    DISPERSION. 

"And  the  Lord  shall  scatter  thee  among  all  peoples  from 
the  one  end  of  the  earth  even  unto  the  other  end  of  the 
earth "  (Deut.  xxviii.  64) ;  "  And  you  will  I  scatter  among 
the  nations"  (Leviticus  xxvi.  33).  These  words  have  been 
so  fully  accomplished  that  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews  has 
long  been  one  of  the  commonplaces  of  history.  The  Jew 
is  found  in  every  land  from  north  to  south,  from  east  to 
west.  Even  to-day,  accustomed  as  we  are  to  the  comming- 
ling of  nationalities,  the  dispersion  of  Israel  strikes  us  with 
astonishment.  To  no  other  nation  would  these  words  have 
applied.  Can  we  explain  how  they  have  been  so  abundantly 
fulfilled  in  the  fate  of  the  one  people  of  whom  they  were 
spoken?  The  fulfilments  of  other  predictions  have  been 
far  removed  from  the  scope  of  our  observation,  and  have 
not  summoned  us,  so  to  speak,  as  God's  witnesses.  But 
this  touches  us.  It  is  a  fulfilment  in  our  own  day,  and  in 
our  own  land.  It  is  one  which  we  have  no  need  to  search 
out  and  make  ourselves  acquainted  with.  It  has  been  laid 
fully  before  us;  it  is  among  the  thing  we  have  long  known. 
And  now  what  is  the  testimony  we  have  to  offer  1  Is  it  not 
that  the  book  which  declared  this  from  of  old  bears  upon 
it  here  the  Divine  seal  ? 

This,  however,  is  only  part  of  the  picture.     It  was  fore- 
told that,  though  dispersed, 

THEY    SHOULD    BE    PRESERVED. 

That  a  nation,  deprived  of  its  fatherland,  wandering  over 
all  the  earth  without  any  home  or  rallying-place,  deprived, 
too,  as  we  shall  immediately  see,  of  the  chief  ceremonies 
and  institutions  of  the  religion  which  had  been  the  main 
instrument  in  binding  them  together  as  a  people — that  a 
nation  so  placed  should  not  be  absorbed  by  the  peoples 
among  whom  they  sojourned,  and  should  not  disappear  as 
a  distinct  and  separate  race,  is  contrary  both  to  reason  and 
experience.      In   every   other   instance   the   uprooting  of   a 


220  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    THE    JEWS. 

people  from  their  own  land  and  the  scattering  of  them 
among  surrounding  nations,  have  been  followed  by  their 
extinction  as  a  race.  But  the  words  which  pronounced 
the  judgment  upon  the  Jew,  said  also,  "And  yet,  for  all 
that,  when  they  be  in  the  land  of  their  enemies,  I  will  not 
reject  them,  neither  will  I  abhor  them,  to  destroy  them 
utterly,  and  to  break  My  covenant  with  them ;  for  I  am 
the  Lord  their  God"  (Lev.  xxvi.  -±4).  And  here  again 
the  improbable,  and  therefore  the  utterly  unforeseen,  has 
happened.  The  Jews  plucked  up  out  of  their  own  land, 
and  scattered  over  the  whole  earth,  have  nevertheless  been 
preserved."  "  Massacred  by  thousands,  yet  springing  up 
again  from  their  undying  stock,  the  Jews  appear  at  all 
times  and  in  all  regions.  Their  perpetuity,  their  national 
immortality,  is  at  once  the  most  curious  problem  to  the 
political  inquirer ;  to  the  religious  man  a  subject  of  profound 
and  awful  admiration."  * 
The 

SEPARATENESS, 

which  is  such  a  marked  characteristic  of  the  Jewish  people, 
was  also  clearly  predicted.  It  has  not  always  been  the 
desire  of  Jews  that  it  should  continue.  There  were  many 
in  the  time  of  Ezekiel,  as  well  as  afterwards  in  the  days  of 
the  Maccabees,  who  considered  its  perpetuation  to  be  a 
mistake.  God's  answer  to  the  imagination  of  their  hearts 
was  this :  "  That  which  cometh  into  your  mind  shall  not 
be  at  all ;  in  that  ye  say,  we  will  be  as  the  nations,  as  the 
families  of  the  countries,  to  serve  wood  and  stone"  (Ezek. 
xx.  32).  Another  prediction,  to  which  we  shall  again 
refer,  represents  Israel  after  the  dispersion  as  a  woman 
who  had  been  an  adulteress,  but  whom  the  prophet 
purchases  and  weds  on  the  condition  that  she  will  no 
more  transgress,  but  abide  for  him  many  days  (Hosea 
iii.  1-3).  Neither  their  own  proclivities  to  idolatry,  nor 
*  Milman,  "History  of  the  Jews,"  II.,  398,  399. 


THEIR    TREATMENT    AMONG    THE    GENTILES.  221 

the  terrible  constraint  which  was  to  be  put  upon  them, 
would  avail  to  blot  out  the  distinctions  which  separated 
them  from  the  nations  among  whom  they  sojourned. 
These  predictions  have  been  answered  by  what  is  one  of 
the  mightiest  marvels  of  history.  Rivers  sometimes  enter 
the  sea  in  such  volume  and  force  that  they  cleave  path- 
ways for  miles  through  the  ocean  bed.  But  this  force  is 
soon  spent,  and  their  waters,  like  those  of  meaner  streams, 
have  at  last  to  commingle  with  the  ocean.  We  can  under- 
stand how  the  Jews  might  retain  their  national,  or  what  in 
their  case  was  the  same,  their  religious,  characteristics  for 
a  time.  Customs,  institutions,  and  beliefs,  which  had  been 
established  for  ages,  could  not  be  forgotten  in  a  day.  But 
scattered,  dispirited,  in  many  cases  enslaved,  surrounded 
by  strong  temptations,  and  goaded  by  bitter  and  unrelenting 
persecution  to  cast  away  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  they 
have  overcome  every  opposing  influence  and  disappointed 
every  expectation.  It  is  difficult  to  explain  this  result,  and 
it  was  impossible  to  foresee  it.  What  then  of  the  words 
which  proclaimed  it  from  of  old,  which  said  that  Israel 
should  thus  remain  many  days,  and  that,  in  spite  of 
attempts  even  from  within  to  heathenize  the  nation,  it 
should  not  be  "as  the  nations,  as  the  families  of  the 
countries  1 " 

And  the  story  is  told  yet  more  fully.     The  word,  which 
spoke    God's    judgment    upon    their    sin,    foretold    their 

TREATMENT    IN    THE   LANDS    OF    THEIR    LONG    SOJOURN.       They 

were,  for  example,  to  be 

COMPELLED     TO     POLLUTE     THEMSELVES    WITH 
IDOLATRY. 

"The  Lord  shall  scatter  thee  among  all  peoples,  from  the 
one  end  of  the  earth  even  unto  the  other  end  of  the  earth ; 
and  there  thou  shalt  serve  other  gods,  which  thou  hast  not 
known,  thou  nor  thy  fathers,  even  wood  and  stone"  (Deut. 
xxviii.  64).      This  doom  had  been  laid  upon  them  in  the 


222  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    THE   JEWS. 

prediction  which  spoke  of  the  earlier  captivity :  "  The  Lord 
shall  bring  thee  and  thy  king  which  thou  shalt  set  over  thee 
unto  a  nation  which  thou  hast  not  known,  thou  nor  thy 
fathers ;  and  there  shalt  thou  serve  other  gods,  wood  and 
stone"  (ver.  36).  That  prophecy  was  literally  fulfilled  when 
both  king  and  people  were  removed  to  Babylon.  But  it 
will  be  noticed  that  while  there  is  no  mention  of  their  king 
in  the  subsequent  prediction,  the  one  "nation"  to  which 
the  Lord  should  bring  them  is  exchanged  for  "all  peoples 
from  the  one  end  of  the  earth  unto  the  other  end  of  the 
earth."  It  is  clear  then  that  the  second  prophecy  con- 
templates a  different  set  of  circumstances,  when  Israel 
would  be  without  a  king  and  the  people  should  be  scattered 
broadcast  over  the  earth.  Though  the  circumstances  were 
to  be  changed,  however,  this  doom  was  to  be  repeated. 
They  were  again  to  serve  other  gods.  The  prophecy  was 
first  fulfilled  in  the  forfeiture  of  the  Temple  tax  for  the 
purposes  of  Roman  idolatry.  The  Temple  of  Jupiter 
Capitolinus  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  same  day  which 
witnessed  the  conflagration  of  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem, 
and  the  half-shekel  paid  by  every  Jew,  no  matter  where  he 
resided,  to  support  the  Temple-service  was  allotted  by  the 
Roman  Emperors  to  the  rebuilding  and  adornment  of  the 
shrine  of  the  Roman  God.  It  was  in  vain  the  Jews  refused 
to  pay.  Their  resistance  was  severely  punished,  and  they 
were  compelled  to  take  the  money  sacred  to  Jehovah  and 
lay  it,  so  to  speak,  upon  the  altar  of  Jove.  The  tax  was 
long  continued.  But  this  was  only  an  earnest  of  what 
lay  before  them.  Neither  the  heathenism  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  nor  that  of  the  so-called  Christianity  whose  priests 
succeeded  to  the  lordship  of  the  Roman  conscience,  knew 
anything  of  toleration;  and  we  know  how,  even  till  times 
comparatively  recent,  the  persecution  of  this  people  has 
been  continued.  They  have  been  compelled  to  worship 
the  idols  of  Roman  Catholic  Christendom,  gods  of  wood 
and  stone  which  neither  they  nor  their  fathers  had  known. 


THEIR    TREATMENT    AMONG    THE    GENTILES.  223 

It  was  also  predicted  that 

THEY  SHOULD  HAVE  NO  REST. 

"And  among  those  nations  shalt  thou  find  no  ease,  and 
there  shall  be  no  rest  for  the  sole  of  thy  foot;  but  the  Lord 
shall  give  thee  there  a  trembling  heart,  and  failing  of  eyes, 
and  pining  of  soul :  and  thy  life  shall  hang  in  doubt 
before  thee;  and  thou  shalt  fear  night  and  day,  and  shalt 
have  none  assurance  of  thy  life  :  in  the  morning  thou  shalt 
say,  Would  God  it  were  even  !  and  at  even  thou  shalt  say, 
Would  God  it  were  morning !  for  the  fear  of  thine  heart 
which  thou  shalt  fear,  and  for  the  sight  of  thine  eyes 
which  thou  shalt  see"  (vv.  65-67).  And  you  will  I 
scatter  among  the  nations,  and  I  will  draw  out  a  sword 
after  you"  (Lev.  xxvi.  33). 

The  tale  which  these  words  recall  is,  without  exception, 
the  most  terrible  and  pathetic  in  human  history.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  second  century  they  broke  out  into  insur- 
rection in  Babylonia,  Egypt,  Gyrene,  and  Cyprus.  The 
rebellion  was  suppressed  with  immense  bloodshed.  They 
were  expelled  from  Cyprus,  and  were  never  after  permitted 
to  put  a  foot  upon  the  island.  If  a  Jew  chanced  to  be 
wrecked  upon  its  shores  he  was  immediately  put  to  death. 
It  was  said  that  in  Egypt  as  many  fell  as  originally  escaped 
under  Moses,  namely,  600,000  men.  To  tell  the  story  of 
their  after  persecutions  we  should  have  to  write  their 
history.  They  have  had  periods  of  rest,  but  these  were 
only  lulls  in  the  storm.  The  hatred  in  which  they  were 
held  was  augmented  by  their  own  madness.  They  assisted 
the  Persians,  for  example,  to  capture  Jerusalem  in  the 
beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  and,  after  they  had 
butchered  their  own  Christian  prisoners,  they  purchased 
those  of  the  Persians  that  they  might  still  farther  glut  their 
revenge.  All  this  recoiled  upon  themselves.  We  know 
how  they  suffered  during  the  Crusades.  Peter  the  Hermit 
was  leading  his  hosts  through  Germany  when   the  cry  ran 


224  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    THE   JEWS. 

from  lip  to  lip,  "why  march  against  the  enemies  of  Christ 
when  worse  enemies  are  being  left  behind  us ! "  Their 
fury  was  accordingly  let  loose  against  the  Jews,  who  were 
everywhere  along  the  route  attacked,  plundered,  and 
massacred.  Fifty  years  afterwards  a  second  storm  broke 
upon  the  Jews  of  Germany,  and  fanatical  mobs  swept  the 
cities  of  the  Rhine,  and  renewed  the  former  horrors.  In 
the  same  country  they  suffered  in  every  popular  rising. 
"No  fanatic  monk,"  says  Milman,  "set  the  populace  in 
commotion,  no  public  calamity  took  place,  no  atrocious  or 
extravagant  report  was  propagated,  but  it  fell  upon  the 
heads  of  this  unhappy  caste.  In  Germany  the  black  plague 
raged  in  all  its  fury,  and  wild  superstition  charged  the  Jews, 
as  elsewhere,  with  causing  and  aggravating  the  misery,  and 
themselves  enjoying  a  guilty  comparative  security  amid  the 
universal  desolation.  Fatal  tumults  were  caused  by  the 
march  of  the  Flagellants,  a  host  of  mad  enthusiasts,  who 
passed  through  the  cities  of  Germany,  preceded  by  a 
crucifix,  and  scourging  their  naked  and  bleeding  backs  as 
they  went  as  a  punishment  for  their  own  offences  and  those 
of  the  Christian  world.  These  fanatics  atoned  for,  as  they 
supposed,  rather  than  aggravated,  their  sins  against  the 
God  of  Mercy,  by  plundering  and  murdering  the  Jews  in 
Frankfort  and  other  places.  The  same  dark  stories  were 
industriously  propagated,  readily  believed,  and  ferociously 
avenged,  of  fountains  poisoned,  children  crucified,  the 
Host  stolen  and  outraged.  The  power  of  their  liege  lord 
and  Emperor,  recognised  by  the  law  of  the  Empire, 
even  when  exerted  for  their  protection,  was  but  slightly 
respected  and  feebly  enforced,  especially  where  every 
province  and  almost  every  city  had  or  claimed  an  in- 
dependent jurisdiction.  Still,  persecuted  in  one  city 
they  fled  to  another,  and  thus  spread  over  the  whole  of 
Germany,  Brunswick,  Austria,  Franconia,  the  Rhine 
Provinces,  Silesia,  Brandenburg,  Bohemia,  Lithuania,  and 
Poland.      Oppressed   by  the   nobles,   anathematised  by  the 


THEIR    SUFFERINGS.  225 

clergy,  hated  as  rivals  in  trade  by  the  burghers  in  com- 
mercial cities,  despised  and  abhorred  by  the  populace,  their 
existence  is  known  by  the  chronicle,  rarely  of  protective 
edicts,  more  often  by  their  massacres."*  The  light  which 
afterwards  dawned  on  Christendom,  brought,  no  doubt, 
alleviation  for  the  lot  of  the  Jew  in  Germany,  as  elsewhere, 
but  the  regulations  of  Frederick  the  Great,  show  of  what 
cruel  arbitrariness  a  philosophic  statesman  could  be  guilty 
even  in  the  eighteenth  century  when  the  fate  of  the  Jew  was 
in  question;  and  we  still  hear  of  the  Judenhetze — Jew- 
baiting — in  that  land  of  philosophy  and  freedom. 

The  story  of  the  Jew  in  England  is  quite  as  terrible. 
They  were  tortured  and  robbed  by  king  and  nobles,  and 
massacred  by  the  populace.  From  500  to  1,500  men  with 
their  wives  and  children  perished  in  a  rising  in  York  in  the 
twelfth  century.  At  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century  their 
whole  property  was  confiscated,  and  they  were  expelled 
from  the  kingdom  with  circumstances  of  great  barbarity. 
They  were  not  re-admitted  till  the  reign  of  Charles  the 
Second.  We  have  to  repeat  the  same  tale  when  we  turn 
to  France.  For  a  brief  period  that  country  was  a  Paradise 
to  the  Jews.  One  of  the  two  Mayors  of  Narbonne  was 
always  a  Jew,  and  the  Jewish  quarter  in  Lyons  was  the 
principal  part  of  the  city.  One  of  them  was  sent  on  an 
embassy  by  Charlemagne.  They  were  physicians  and 
ministers  to  nobles  and  princes,  and  the  confidential  advisers 
of  Louis  the  Debonnaire.  But  their  eminence  and  wealth 
only  marked  them  out  the  more  for  after  robbery  and 
oppression.  They  were  plundered  and  enslaved  by  the 
children  of  the  nobles  whom  they  had  served.  Philip 
Augustus  robbed  them  of  their  effects  and  banished  them 
from  the  kingdom.  For  a  price  they  were  allowed  to 
return.  They  came  back  only  to  be  entrapped.  Louis 
VIII.  annulled  all  interest  on  debts  due  to  them,  declared 
them  to  be  attached  to  the  soil,  and  assigned  them  as 
*  "History  of  the  Jews,"  III.,  222,  223. 


226  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    THE    JEWS. 

property  to  its  lords.  In  1239  the  mobs  of  Paris  rose 
against  them  and  committed  frightful  atrocities,  which 
were  imitated  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom.  They  were 
finally  banished  from  France  at  the  end  of  the  14th  century, 
a  decree  of  exclusion  which  remained  in  force  till  1794. 
The  story  of  their  sufferings  in  Spain  is  more  harrowing 
still,  but  we  forbear.  There  has  been  again  a  lull,  broken 
in  recent  years  by  the  persecutions  in  Russia.  The  con- 
tempt and  hatred  with  which  the  Jews  are  still  regarded 
there  and  elsewhere  on  the  continent  are  well  known,  and 
the  trembling  of  heart  of  which  the  prophet  spoke  has  not 
ceased  even  now. 

Let  me  call  attention  in  closing  to  another  part  of  their 
story  as  told  in  prophecy.  In  the  book  of  Hosea,  to 
which  we  have  already  referred,  we  find  these  remarkable 
words :  "  The  children  of  Israel  shall  abide  many  days 
without  king,  and  without  prince,  and  without  sacrifice,  and 
without  pillar,  and  without  ephod  or  teraphim"  (iii.  4). 
We  have  here  a  prophetic  description  of  some  of  the 
social  and  religious  peculiarities  of  the  scattered 
Israelites.  We  have  seen  that  they  were  to  continue, 
and  that  they  were  to  be  separate.  That  they  were 
to  be  still  further  separated  from  the  peoples  among 
whom  they  were  to  sojourn  is  evident  from  this  predic- 
tion in  Hosea.  Tempted  sorely  to  turn  aside  to  idolatry, 
and  terribly  persecuted  because  of  their  refusal,  they  were 
nevertheless  to  preserve  their  ancient  faith :  "  Thou  shalt 
abide  for  me  many  days;  thou  shalt  not  play  the  harlot" 
(Hosea  iii.  3).  And  now  we  are  told  that  this  separateness 
would  be  maintained  by  a  community 

DEPRIVED    OF    ANY    CENTRAL    GOVERNMENT 

which  might  shield  and  guide  them  as  a  people:  "The 
children  of  Israel  shall  abide  many  days  without  king  and 
without  prince."  The  words  have  been  fulfilled,  and  ful- 
filled in  spite  of  the  strenuous  efforts  of  the  Jews  to  maintain 


LOSS    OF    GOVERNMENT,    SACRIFICE,    AND    HOLY-PLACE.   227 

among  themselves  some  central  authority.  Within  60  years 
after  the  revolt  under  Barcochebas  the  Jews  in  the  Roman 
Empire  ranged  themselves  under  the  patriarch  of  Tiberias, 
while  the  Jews  in  the  Persian  dominions  gave  their  allegi- 
ance to  another  of  their  number  who  bore  the  title,  the 
Prince  of  the  Captivity.  Both  sovereignties  nourished  for 
a  time.  The  Patriarch  was  permitted  to  appoint  ministers, 
to  exercise  religious  authority,  and  to  receive  an  annual 
contribution  from  the  Jews  scattered  throughout  the  Empire. 
"Even  now,"  says  Origen,  "When  the  Jews  are  under  the 
dominion  of  Rome,  and  pay  the  didrachma,  how  great,  by 
the  permission  of  Caesar,  is  the  power  of  their  Ethnarch  ! 
I  myself  have  been  a  witness  that  it  is  little  less  than  that 
of  a  king.  For  they  secretly  pass  judgments  according  to 
their  law,  and  some  are  capitally  condemned,  not  with  open 
and  acknowledged  authority,  but  with  the  connivance  of  the 
Emperor."  The  Prince  of  the  Captivity  assumed  a  still 
greater  state.  His  installation  was  marked  by  great 
ceremony.  The  magnates  of  the  people  assembled  in  a 
magnificent  chamber  adorned  with  rich  curtains,  and  the 
Prince  was  seated  on  a  lofty  throne.  He  resided  in  a  stately 
palace,  and  when  he  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  sovereign  a 
royal  carriage  was  placed  at  his  service.  But  the  Patriarchate 
withered  away  and  was  brought  to  a  close  about  429.  And 
the  last  Prince  of  the  Captivity  perished  on  the  scaffold  in 
the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century.  An  independent 
kingdom  of  the  Jews,  which  had  been  established  in  Arabia 
Felix  more  than  a  century  before  the  Christian  Era,  was 
overthrown  by  the  Mohammedans  in  the  seventh  century. 
With  these  perished  every  attempt  to  maintain  sovereign 
authority  among  the  Jews,  and  they  have  now  been  "many 
days  without  king  and  without  prince." 
They  were  also  to  be 

"WITHOUT    SACRIFICE    AND    WITHOUT    PILLAR." 

The  patriarchs  set  up  "  pillars "  here  and  there  during  their 


228  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    THE   JEWS. 

wanderings,  and  the  expression  "without  pillar"  no  doubt 
signifies  that  Israel  should  be  deprived  even  of  the  simplest 
and  rudest  holy-place.  How  strange  the  words  must  have 
seemed  to  Israel,  and  how  completely  they  have  been  fulfilled, 
I  need  not  say.  Since  the  destruction  of  the  temple  they 
have  neither  had  sacrifice  nor  holy-place,  and  for  eighteen 
centuries  their  religion  has  continued,  though  deprived  of  all 
that  seemed  to  give  it  expression  and  to  ensure  its  per- 
manence.    They  were  also  to  remain 

WITHOUT     EPHOD     OR     TERAPHIM. 

The  ephod  was  used  in  the  priestly  ministrations,  and 
specially  in  seeking  to  learn  the  mind  of  God.  The 
teraphim  appear  to  have  been  also  used  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  oracular  responses.  This  part  of  the  description, 
therefore,  implied  that  the  priestly  office  would  cease  in 
Israel,  and  that  all  attempts  to  obtain  the  direction  of 
what  we  may  call  the  living  voice  of  God  would  be  given 
over.  In  the  destruction  of  Jerusalam  and  the  subsequent 
troubles  which  fell  upon  Judea,  the  entire  priesthood 
perished,*  and  since  that  time  there  has  been  neither 
ephod  nor  teraphim  in  Israel.  The  Rabbi  has  taken  the 
place  of  the  priest,  and  the  unpretentious  and  far-off  worship 
of  the  synagogue  has  succeeded  to  the  solemn  service  and 
the  near  access  of  the  Temple.  But  behind  all  the  wrath 
there  is  mercy.  Judgment  paves  the  way  for  blessing. 
Hosea  continues :  "  Afterward  shall  the  children  of  Israel 
return,  and  seek  the  Lord  their  God,  and  David  their  King ; 
and  shall  come  with  fear  unto  the  Lord  and  to  His  good- 
ness in  the  latter  days"  (Hos.  iii.  5).  The  fulfilment  of 
the  previous  words  tells  that  these  also  are  remembered, 
and  that  God's  arm,  "  though  strong  to  smite,  is  also  strong 

to  save." 

CONCLUSION. 

We  began  with  the  question,  What  are  we  to  believe  1 — has 
*  Milman;  "History  of  the  Jews,"  III.,  414. 


CONCLUSION,  229 

it  been  answered  1  Let  me  remind  the  reader  of  two  things. 
On  one  of  them  we  are  all  agreed.  No  one  can  lift  the 
vail  which  hides  the  future,  and  become  the  historian  of 
the  days  that  are  yet  to  be.  Not  even  the  most  experienced 
or  the  most  gifted  can  tell  what  will  be  the  political  position 
of  any  one  of  the  leading  countries  of  Europe  at  the  end  of 
the  next  500  years  or  of  the  next  century,  nor  paint  the 
condition  which  its  meanest  hamlet  will  present  when  fifty 
years  have  passed  away.  Great  as  are  the  powers  of  the 
human  intellect,  they  are  limited  on  the  side  of  the  future 
by  sharply  denned  and  utterly  impassable  boundaries.  No 
man  can  prophesy.  That  is  one  thing  which  we  all  admit 
to  be  beyond  the  possibility  of  question.  The  second  point 
is  that  for  the  readers  of  these  pages  it  is  equally  un- 
deniable that  the  Scripture  not  only  contains,  but  abounds 
with,  genuine  prophecies.  As  our  inquiry  has  proceeded 
what,  in  no  offensive  sense,  we  may  call  sceptical  explana- 
tions have  broken  down.  The  predictions  were  not  written 
after  the  events,  for  our  case  is  founded  only  upon  pro- 
phecies which  have  been  fulfilled  at,  or  since,  the  beginning 
of  the  Christian  era.  Then  their  accomplishment  cannot 
be  explained  by  chance.  The  predictions  are  not  fortunate 
guesses,  arrows  shot  at  a  venture  which  have  happened  to 
hit.  The  fulfilments  are  too  many,  the  prophetic  descrip- 
tions too  clear,  too  full,  many  of  the  details  too  striking 
and  too  minute,  to  admit  of  their  being  explained  by  any 
such  theory.  It  is  plainly  impossible  to  account  in  that 
way  for  the  prophetic  pictures  of  Egypt,  of  Judea  and  the 
Jews,  of  the  world's  history,  of  Christ  and  His  work.  But, 
if  these  predictions  are  not  due  to  after-knowledge  or  to 
chance,  there  is  only  one  explanation  left.  They  are  the 
result  of  foreknowledge.  They  tell  of  thought  which  holds 
all  generations,  past  and  future,  in  its  grasp,  and  of  purpose, 
which,  perhaps,  like  the  mightier  harvests  of  earth,  advances 
slowly  to  its  fulfilment,  but  which  is  nevertheless  surely  and 
fully  accomplished.      In  a  word,   they  reveal   God.      They 


230  PREDICTIONS    REGARDING    THE   JEWS. 

prove  His  existence :  they  manifest  Himself ;  and  one  cry 
of  the  human  heart  finds  its  answer  there.  The  existence 
of  God  is  not  a  dream.  This  life  of  ours  is  compassed 
about  with  a  larger  and  grander.  There  is  One  for  us  to 
adore,  to  love,  to  lean  upon. 

Then  as  we  read  these  predictions  another  form  is 
revealed.  It  is  a  striking  fact  that  the  ages  have  not  been 
suffered  to  forget  the  name  of  Jesus.  Neither  persecution, 
nor  superstition,  nor  perversions  of  the  truth,  have  been 
able  to  make  the  world  forget  the  gospel  story,  or  to 
silence  those  who  have  proclaimed  the  Kedeemer's  name. 
We  still  look  back  to  Bethlehem,  to  Nazareth,  to  Galilee, 
to  Calvary,  to  Olivet.  And  just  as  we  look  back  to-day, 
so  patriarchs  and  prophets  looked  forward.  We  look  back 
through  the  light  of  history :  they  looked  forward  through 
a  light  which  anticipated  that  of  history — the  light  of 
prophecy.  We  have  seen  how  the  Old  Testament  from 
first  to  last  glows  with  this  anticipation,  and  we  have 
compared  forecast  with  fulfilment.  The  very  fact  that  it 
was  the  unceasing  testimony  of  Scripture  that  a  Son  of 
Abraham,  a  Jew,  should  become  a  light  to  the  Gentiles, 
and  that  this  Light  did  arise  and  is  shedding  its  beams 
upon  us  now,  is  enough  to  overwhelm  doubt ;  and  the 
picture  of  His  character,  of  His  sufferings,  of  the  nature  of 
His  work  for  us,  forms  a  foundation  for  our  trust,  which, 
till  these  things  be  explained  away,  nothing  can  shake. 
And  here  another  cry  of  the  heart  is  answered.  There  is  a 
Mediator  between-  God  and  man :  One  who  is  ours,  and 
His :  One  who  is  for  Him,  but  who  is  also  for  us. 

But  when  these  points  are  settled,  they  reveal  one  need 
more.  We  desire  nearness  to  our  Father  and  our  Redeemer  : 
we  thirst  for  likeness  to  them.  In  other  words,  we  cry  for 
light  which  will  reveal  them,  and  make  plain  our  pathway. 
And  need  we  search  further  for  the  answer?  Is  it  not  in 
that  book,  which  is  without  a  peer,  and  which  is  stamped 
as  Divine  by  the  impress  of   knowledge  such  as   man   has 


CONCLUSION.  231 

never  boasted?  He  who  has  cared  for  every  other  want, 
and  who  has  made  need  but  a  pathway  into  His  fulness, 
has  cared  for  this,  the  deepest  and  most  clamant  want  of 
all.  Let  us  not  spurn  the  gift.  Let  us  not  neglect  it.  It 
is  heaven's  light  "  Whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take  heed, 
as  unto  a  lamp  shining  in  a  dark  place,  until  the  day  dawn, 
and  the  day-star  arise  in  your  hearts." 


FINIS. 


